Risk of Thyroid Cancer among Chernobyl Liquidators

• Published in: Radiation research Vol. 178; no. 5; pp. 425 - 436
• Main Authors: Kesminiene, Ausrele, Evrard, Anne-Sophie, Ivanov, Viktor K., Malakhova, Irina V., Kurtinaitise, Juozas, Stengrevics, Aivars, Tekkel, Mare, Chekin, Sergei, Drozdovitch, Vladimir, Gavrilin, Yuri, Golovanov, Ivan, Kryuchkov, Viktor P., Maceika, Evaldas, Mirkhaidarov, Anatoly K., Polyakov, Semion, Tenet, Vanessa, Tukov, Aleksandr R., Byrnes, Graham, Cardis, Elisabeth
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States The Radiation Research Society 01.11.2012; Radiation Research Society; Allen Press Inc
• Subjects: Accidents; Baltic States; Cancer; Case-Control Studies; Chernobyl Nuclear Accident; Dosage; Dose response relationship; Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; Dosimetry; Human health and pathology; Humans; Ingestion; Inhalation; Iodine Isotopes - toxicity; Iodine radioisotopes; Life Sciences; Lymph Nodes - radiation effects; Medical research; Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced - epidemiology; Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced - pathology; Nuclear power plants; Occupational Exposure; Radiation dosage; Radiation dose response relationship; Radioactive fallout; Radioactive Hazard Release; Radiotherapy; REGULAR ARTICLES; Republic of Belarus; Risk Factors; Russia; Santé publique et épidémiologie; Thyroid; Thyroid cancer; Thyroid diseases; Thyroid Neoplasms - epidemiology; Thyroid Neoplasms - pathology; Republic of Belarus; Baltic States; Russia
• ISSN: 0033-7587; 1938-5404; 1938-5404
• DOI: 10.1667/RR2975.1

After the Chernobyl accident in 1986, the “liquidators” or clean-up workers were among those who received the highest radiation doses to the thyroid from external radiation. Some were also exposed to radioiodines through inhalation or ingestion. A collaborative case-control study nested within cohorts of Belarusian, Russian and Baltic liquidators was conducted to evaluate the radiation-induced risk of thyroid cancer. The study included 107 cases and 423 controls. Individual doses to the thyroid from external radiation and from iodine-131 (131I) were estimated for each subject. Most subjects received low doses (median 69 mGy). A statistically significant dose-response relationship was found with total thyroid dose. The Excess Relative Risk (ERR) per 100 mGy was 0.38 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.10, 1.09]. The risk estimates were similar when doses from 131I and external radiation were considered separately, although for external radiation the ERR was not statistically significantly elevated. The ERR was similar for micro carcinomas and larger size tumors, and for tumors with and without lymph node involvement. Although recall bias and uncertainties in doses could have affected the magnitude of the risk estimates, the findings of this study contribute to a better characterization the risk of thyroid cancer after radiation exposure in adulthood.