Thyroid cancer in children and young adults in the North of England. Is increasing incidence related to the Chernobyl accident?
Author: Cotterill, S.J. / Pearce, M.S. / Parker, L.
Reference: European Journal of Cancer, 37 (8), p.1020-1026, May 2001
doi: 10.1016/S0959-8049(00)00449-4
Keywords: Thyroid neoplasms; Childhood cancer; Young adults; Iodine radioisotopes; Nuclear accidents
Abstract: Population-based data on thyroid carcinomas was obtained from the Northern Region Young Person’s Malignant Disease Registry to analyse the incidence of thyroid cancers in young people (<25 years) in the North of England for the period 1968 and 1997 and to assess if changes in incidence were consistent with the spatial and temporal distribution of the fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear accident. We compared incidence rates for differentiated (papillary or follicular) thyroid carcinomas 1968–1986 with those for 1987–1997. …These temporal and spatial changes in incidence are consistent with a causal association with the Chernobyl accident although a greater effect in the younger rather than the older age group would have been anticipated. However, factors including improvements in ascertainment and earlier detection of tumours may also have contributed to the increasing incidence. …
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959804900004494