Chernobyl

[epirad@mchsi.com]

Two recent papers on this subject are of interest.



Eur J Public Health 2002 Mar;12(1):72-6 



 Has fallout from the Chernobyl accident caused 

childhood leukaemia in Europe? A commentary on the 

epidemiologic evidence.



Hoffmann W.



Bremen Institute for Prevention Research and Social 

Medicine (BIPS), Linzer Str. 8-10, D-28359 Bremen, 

Germany. HOFFMANN@BIPS.UNI-BREMEN.DE



BACKGROUND: According to radiation risk estimates 

uniformly adopted by various official organizations, 

exposure to Chernobyl fallout is unlikely to have caused 

any measurable health risk in central Europe. METHODS: A 

re-evaluation of ECLIS (European Childhood Leukaemia and 

Lymphoma Incidence Study), a large IARC-coordinated 

project in the context of various published studies. 

RESULTS: ECLIS revealed a slightly higher leukaemia 

incidence in the most contaminated European regions, and 

an increasing trend with estimated cumulative excess 

radiation dose. The excess corresponds to 20 cases of 

childhood leukaemia in the study area up to 1991. More 

recent evidence from Greece and Germany indicates 

significantly higher risks in the cohort of children in 

utero at the time of the initial fallout. In Greece, a 

positive trend was observed over three regions of 

increasing average fallout contamination. CONCLUSION: 

Chernobyl fallout could well have caused a small, but 

significant excess of childhood leukaemia cases in 

Europe. The etiologic mechanism might include an 

induction of chromosome aberrations in early pregnancy. 

Increased risks in the birth cohort exposed in utero 

correspond to 11 excess cases in Greece and another 11.4 

excess cases in Germany. Exposure misclassification and 

underascertainment of incident cases render post-

Chernobyl risk estimates probably too low. If indeed 

Chernobyl fallout has caused childhood leukaemia cases 

in Europe, we would also expect an increased incidence 

for other childhood cancers and excess malignancies in 

adults as well as non-malignant diseases of all ages. 

Neither of these endpoints has as yet been 

systematically studied.J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab 

2001;14 Suppl 5:1289-96; discussion 1297-8





Thyroid cancer in children and adolescents--consequences 

in later life.



Wiersinga W M.



Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Academic 

Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, The 

Netherlands. W.M.Wiersinga@amc.uva.nl



Thyroid cancer is rare below the age of 16 years, with 

an annual incidence of 0.02-0.3 cases per 100,000. 

Papillary and follicular thyroid cancer in childhood and 

adolescence is more advanced upon presentation than in 

adults, as evident from a higher frequency of extra-

thyroidal spread. The recurrence rate is also higher. 

Nevertheless, the prognosis for survival in children and 

adolescents is better than in adults; why this is so 

remains unclear. An approximately 30-fold increase in 

the incidence of thyroid cancer has been observed in 

children exposed to the fallout of the Chernobyl 

accident, especially in the age group of <1 year at the 

time of the disaster. Medullary thyroid cancer in 

childhood and adolescence occurs mainly as part of the 

MEN2 syndrome. Early detection by DNA mutation analysis 

and treatment by prophylactic thyroidectomy results in a 

potential normal life expectancy. Consequences in adult 

life relate to long-term complications of thyroid 

surgery, 131I treatment and TSH-suppressive doses of L-

T4.



Regards, Bill Field





> >local residents weren't informed for quite some time. If they had

>  > been told, and evacuated, the effects would have been reduced

>  > significantly.

> 

> What effects?

> ---

> About 2000 children (Chernobyl) got thyroid cancer - at least about 30 of 

> them died and at least about 100 have chronic problems and cannot be treated 

> properly.

> 

> My personal comment only,

> 

> Bjorn Cedervall   bcradsafers@hotmail.com

> 

> 

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