![]() ![]() Thyroid cancer, a rare malignancy of the endocrine system, was first linked to external radiation exposure in a 1969 study of atomic bomb survivors (ABS) ( 3). Radiation and thyroid cancer before the Chernobyl accident The current paper reviews the epidemiological evidence to date concerning cancer and non-cancer outcomes published in the peer-reviewed international literature and discusses the important information which further, well-structured studies of specific exposed populations may provide for the quantification of radiation risks and the protection of persons exposed to low doses of radiation. Recent studies among Chernobyl liquidators have also provided some evidence of increases in the risk of leukaemia and other haematological malignancies and of cataracts and suggestions of increases in the risk of cardiovascular diseases following low doses and low dose rates of radiation. These studies have provided very important new information on links between radiation and cancer that have ramifications for radiation protection, particularly in relation to the risk of thyroid tumours from exposure to iodine isotopes. Although some studies are difficult to interpret because of methodological limitations, recent investigations of Chernobyl clean-up workers (“liquidators”) have provided evidence of increased risks of leukaemia and other hematological malignancies and of cataracts, and suggestions of an increase in risk of cardiovascular diseases, following low doses and low dose rates of radiation.įurther careful follow-up of these populations, including establishment and long-term support of life-span study cohorts, could provide additional important information for the quantification of radiation risks and the protection of persons exposed to low doses of radiation.Ī number of studies of the health effects of radiation from the Chernobyl accident have been conducted in the last 25 years, mostly in the three most affected states of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine ( 1 2). In addition, there have been reported increases in incidence and mortality from non-thyroid cancers and non-cancer endpoints. Data on thyroid cancer risks to other age groups are somewhat less definitive. It is now well-documented that children and adolescents exposed to radioiodines from Chernobyl fallout have a sizeable dose-related increase in thyroid cancer, with risk greatest in those youngest at exposure and with a suggestion that deficiency in stable iodine may increase the risk. ![]() ![]() Studies of affected populations have provided important new data on the links between radiation and cancer – particularly the risk of thyroid tumours from exposure to iodine isotopes - that are important not only for a fuller scientific understanding of radiation effects, but also for radiation protection. Twenty-five years have passed since radioactive releases from the Chernobyl nuclear accident led to exposure of millions of people in Europe. ![]()
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