Morning Trial Update: Arkansas oncologist says arsenic didn't cause leukemia
Last updated Friday, September 22, 2006 12:55 PM CDT in News
By Ron Wood
The Morning News
FAYETTEVILLE -- Michael "Blu" Green's leukemia was not caused by arsenic exposure, the state's first board certified oncologist said Friday.
Dr. William Tranum, a retired Little Rock physician, said he saw no evidence that either chronic or acute exposure to high levels of arsenic caused Green to develop the rare chronic myelogenous leukemia, or CML.
"It's my opinion that his leukemia was not caused by arsenic exposure, to a medical degree of certainty," Tranum told jurors.
Tranum said he probably treated 15,000 cancer patients in his career but CML is a rarity.
"I've only treated one teenager with CML," Tranum said.
He told jurors that Green's lung infections, following his return after a bone marrow transplant, probably resulted from having his immune system destroyed rather than being directly caused by exposure to fungus or mold in chicken litter.
The former Razorback football player from east Arkansas said he doesn't remember chicken litter ever being associated with cancer by specialists in the state.
"That's never been mentioned as a possible cause," Tranum said.
A former researcher at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Tranum said data indicate there's no higher rate of cancer, including leukemia, in Northwest Arkansas than anywhere else in the state.
He also said inhalation of arsenic is only known to cause cancer in the lungs and that radiation is the only recognized cause of CML. He said CML is not associated with any chemical cause.
The sides are trying to wrap up their primary cases today so that they can present closing arguments to jurors Monday.
Green and his parents sued Alpharma and Alpharma Animal Health, makers of the arsenic-based feed additive Roxarsone. The Greens claim exposure to arsenic from litter spreading on farm fields near Prairie Grove in the 1990s caused Blu to develop leukemia.
Alpharma maintains arsenic exposure is not a recognized cause of leukemia.
The plaintiffs in the case are working under the theory that Roxarsone passes through the birds and degrades into a harmful form of arsenic in the litter, which is then spread on farm fields as fertilizer. Wind then carries the dust into homes and schools in the community.
The plaintiffs claim dust samples from attics, homes and businesses in the area have high levels of arsenic. The samples have allegedly been matched through "fingerprinting" to litter applied on nearby fields, according to the suit.
Reader Comments (No comments posted.)
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.
Not already registered?
