Robert Peter Gale, MD, PhD, DSc (hon), FACP, FRCP, FRCPI(hon), FRSM

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power facility, the largest in Europe, with six reactors, has been under Russian control since March, 4, 2022.

The unprovoked war in Ukraine has raised increasing concerns of a nuclear escalation. 

The Russian war against Ukraine continues with no end in sight.

With the Russian invasion stalled and with a forceful counter-attack by Ukrainian armed forces, many observers caution that the Kremlin might be considering a show of force much as the U.S. did in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (The Cancer Letter, Feb. 25, March 4, March 11, 2022). 

As we enter week three of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, events continue to spiral out of control. 

In last week’s issue of The Cancer Letter, I discussed potential nuclear dangers resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (The Cancer Letter, Feb. 25, 2022). Unfortunately, several events I predicted might happen have occurred.

No modern war has been fought on the territory of a country with nuclear power facilities.

Prof. Elihu (Eli) H. Estey, MD, a pioneering AML researcher, physician and scholar collapsed and died unexpectedly on Oct. 8 at his home in Seattle. He was 75.

In the early morning of April 30, 35 years ago, I was awakened by a call from Anatoly Dobrynin, a long-time Soviet Ambassador to the United States. He said General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev wanted me to come to the Soviet Union to help treat victims of the Chernobyl nuclear power facility accident. I had cabled Gorbachev a few days earlier, offering my assistance. 

Can one be too smart? In some disciplines such as physics and mathematics the answer is clearly no. In medicine, the answer is not so clear.

Early in the War Against Cancer, when huge amounts of federal funds were suddenly funneled into cancer research, many scientists and clinicians working in other fields suddenly found it convenient—if not essential—to incorporate cancer into the title of their grant applications.

Governments respond differently to crises which threaten the health of their citizens. For example, during the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, some countries instituted an immediate lockdown whilst others have not restricted social activities, or have done so too late to be maximally effective.

Soon after the Chernobyl accident, while caring for victims at Moscow's Hospital No. 6, I commented: “In a nuclear age, an accident anywhere is an accident everywhere.”

Readers will be pleased to learn this is the final installment of my reviews of the HBO Chernobyl miniseries, which just ended its TV run June 3. The series, which has received extraordinary critical acclaim, had a vast global audience.

With episode four of the series, we moved even further from reality than in prior episodes.

Last week, I discussed events resulting in the Chernobyl NPF accident, including unique aspects of the reactor-design which contributed to the accident, and which resulted in release of radiation to the environment. I also discussed the initial Soviet response. Next, I focus on the immediate medical consequences and the response of Soviet government to medical interventions.

Two weeks ago, HBO began screening a five-part series on Monday nights on the Chernobyl nuclear power facility (NPF) accident, which occurred more than 30 years ago on April 26, 1986.

April 26 marks the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power facility accident in the former Soviet Union. Soon after the accident, I received a call from the Soviet ambassador to the U.S. on behalf of Mikhail Gorbachev asking me to come immediately to Moscow.

By 1986, there were substantial data in animals that molecularly-clone human haematopoietic growth factors, such as granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), could accelerate bone marrow recovery and increase survival after exposure to high-dose ionizing radiations given under controlled experimental conditions.