Radiation induces genome damage," said Professor Kenji Kamiya, the director of the research institute for radiation, biology and medicine at Hiroshima University.

"In some people that isn't fixed correctly. So 60 years later they have problems. The highest risk for A-bomb victims developing cancer is among the youngest who were exposed to the blast. These people are now approaching an age where they would be more likely to develop a cancer anyway," he said.
Science does have some answers, but much more work is needed.

"We are trying to develop new genome technology and new methods for diagnosis and treatment," Professor Kamiya said. "Re-generative medicine offers the possibility of repairing cell damage."

The number of cancer cases among the survivors will continue to rise in the next few years, perhaps peaking in the 2020s.

"That's why we have to rush to develop new treatments for these patients," he said.

Sixty years after the bomb was dropped, science is still working hard to find ways to cope with its after-effects.

[link to news.bbc.co.uk]

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