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Study pinpoints increase in thyroid cancer
Apr 18 2006 - icWales
An international study released today ahead of publication indicates that thyroid cancer is the only cancer to have increased significantly among people living close to the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
The study, to be published on the 20th anniversary next week of the explosion at Reactor 4, concludes that those who were young at the time have the highest risk of developing thyroid cancer.
The disaster was responsible for discharging radiation more than 250 times that released by the Hiroshima bomb.
“Cancer consequences of the Chernobyl accident 20 years on” was produced by an international team of authors who are part of a World Health Organisation working group on the radiological effects of the Chernobyl accident.
One of the paper’s authors, Dr Gerry Thomas, who jointly heads the Human Cancer Studies Group at Swansea Medical School, said: “The increase in thyroid cancer among those affected by fallout from the Chernobyl accident is very striking because thyroid cancer is normally so rare in this age group.
“Although increases in other cancers have also been reported, we can attribute many of these to other factors, such as improvements in registration, reporting and diagnosis.
“We also have to remember that most radiation-related solid cancers continue to occur decades after exposure – only 20 years have passed since the Chernobyl accident, so it is still very early days in terms of evaluating the full radiological impact.”
Dr Thomas, who is also the project manager of the Chernobyl Tissue Bank project, said the health consequences of the accident may not be realised for some time.
“Based on the experience of other populations exposed to ionising radiation, a small increase in the relative risk of cancer is to be expected, even at low to moderate rates of exposure,” said Dr Thomas.
“Given the high number of people exposed to ionising radiation in the Chernobyl accident, it is still possible that we may see a substantial number of radiation-related cancer cases in the future.”
Source: http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk
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