Thyroid cancer in persons as a result of the Chernobyl accident

Abstract

This study analyzed the sex and age characteristics of the incidence of thyroid cancer between residents of contaminated and not contaminated by the iodine-131 districts of Belarus in whom thyroid cancer was registered from 1986 to 2016. The analysis was carried out according to the data of the Belarusian Cancer Register and was focused on the age groups of 0-4, 5-9, 10-14, and 15-18 years old as of April 1986, i.e. at the time of the Chernobyl accident. The control group of patients was taken from the Lepel district of the Vitebsk region, which was not contaminated with iodine isotopes . The shortest latency period until the onset of the disease (16 years) was found for the 0-4 years old group. There are no significant gender differences in latency time and the age of diagnosis of thyroid cancer. In general, the incidence rates of thyroid cancer in the Brest region are higher than in the Vitebsk region, where there was practically no radioactive fallout of iodine-131. Comparison of the incidence in the Brest region with the nationwide one showed its decrease in 2006-2010, that can be explained by different latency periods of different age groups and the characteristics of radiation exposure. The data obtained supports the hypothesis of the radiation-induced nature of thyroid cancer due to the exposure of the population to radioactive iodine in April 1986.