Abstract
Background: In recent years, incidences of thyroid cancer have increased in developed countries; one of the known risk factors for thyroid cancer is exposure to radioiodine. Previous research by Bowlt and Tiplady [5] has shown an inverse link between radioactive iodine levels contained in thyroid tissue of deceased inhabitants and the distance they lived from the Sellafield nuclear facility in Cumbria, UK. Objectives: The present study aimed to determine what thyroid cancer incidences were in the regional localities in Cumbria for the last decade. Methods: An ethics-approved retrospective cohort study in which age-standardised incidence of thyroid cancer per 100,000 population was compared between localities within Cumbria and with UK average figures. Conclusions: The present study shows that the apparent lower incidence of thyroid cancer in West Cumbria has persisted, although due to the limited number of thyroid cancers diagnosed, a statistically significant difference was not observed. Further research – potentially involving populations living near sources of radioiodine emission - is indicated to investigate if there are any mechanisms that underlie this apparent trend.
Highlights
Thyroid cancer is the 18th (UK) and 5th (US) most common cancer in women and the 20th most common cancer in men in the UK [1,2]
Adequate intake of iodine is essential to human health and development, and small quantities obtained from the diet are actively concentrated within the thyroid gland
A total of 124 patients were diagnosed with thyroid cancer between 2003-2013 in the four Cumbrian localities of Allerdale, Copeland, Carlisle, and Eden Valley, included in this study
Summary
Thyroid cancer is the 18th (UK) and 5th (US) most common cancer in women and the 20th most common cancer in men in the UK [1,2]. The incidence of thyroid cancer has increased by as much as 69% over the last decade, and a total of 2,727 new cases were diagnosed in the UK during 2011 [2] This recent increase in incidence is at least partly due to improved diagnostics. Adequate intake of iodine is essential to human health and development, and small quantities obtained from the diet are actively concentrated within the thyroid gland. For these reasons, exposure to the radioactive iodine isotopes 129I and 131I is an important risk factor for the development of thyroid cancer. Previous research by Bowlt and Tiplady [5] has shown an inverse link between radioactive iodine levels contained in thyroid tissue of deceased inhabitants and the distance they lived from the Sellafield nuclear facility in Cumbria, UK
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