 |
|
ECCO 13-Chernobyl legacy sheds light on link between thyroid cancer and radiation exposure
November 02, 2005Study results presented at the 13th European Cancer Conference (ECCO 13) have provided further valuable insights into certain genetic mutations which occur in childhood thyroid tumours and their link to both radiation exposure and patient age.
The unique circumstances of this study were provided for by the legacy of the radioactive accident at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in April 1986. Exposure to radioactive fallout led to a large increase in the incidence of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), which was particularly pronounced in those who were children at the time of the accident. In normal circumstances, thyroid cancer is rare in children under the age of sixteen.
The Chernobyl Tissue Bank was established in 1998 to collect biological samples from those aged under 19 at the time of the accident who subsequently developed thyroid tumours and were resident in the areas of Ukraine and Russia contaminated by the radioactive iodine (131-I) fallout. Radioactive iodine 131-1 has a short half-life of seven days and quickly dissipates in the environment. The investigators were aware of the fact that the incidence of thyroid cancer had dropped down to normal occurrence rates in those children born 9 months after the Chernobyl accident. The continued collection of material by the Tissue Bank gave the investigators a unique opportunity to compare the samples gathered from children who experienced the Chernobyl accident with those born nine months after the incident whose thyroid cancers were unlikely to arise from exposure to 131-I.
The overall aim of the study was to compare the genetic mutations found in childhood thyroid cancer sufferers born before and after the accident - and assess the link to radiation exposure or patient age at diagnosis. Overall, 52 cases of PTC were studied, using tissue obtained from the Chernobyl Tissue Bank. These cases were split into four groups matched according to age, sex and place of residence. Two groups of 13 cases were from the areas of Ukraine most heavily contaminated with radioiodine - one group of 13 born before the accident and the other born after the 1st January 1997, and therefore spared exposure to radioiodine. The two other groups of 13 cases were from other areas of the Ukraine which were not exposed to significant radioiodine fallout - again consisting of one group of children with PTC born before the accident and one group born after 1st January 1987.
Molecular biology studies found no difference with respect to type or overall frequency of a particular genetic mutation, known as ret rearrangement, between any of the groups - despite the fact that ret rearrangement had been thought to be a potential marker of radiation exposure. This study therefore shows that, contrary to other reports in the literature, there is no association between ret rearrangement and radiation exposure. Rather, the study investigators believe that the real link between the patterns of molecular biological alterations observed post-Chernobyl in thyroid cancer might actually be related to the age of the patients under study, rather than radioiodine exposure. Only one child out of the 52 studied had a specific gene mutation, known as BRAF, which is typically present at higher levels in adult thyroid cancer sufferers. In contrast, 58% of adult thyroid cancer patients in the Ukraine show this mutation.
Overall, the insights provided by the study of Chernobyl children with thyroid cancer suggest that age at diagnosis of cancer should be taken into account before drawing conclusions about any link between the specific molecular biology of the cancer and radiation exposure - as this may actually have more significance.
Principle study investigator, Dr Gerry Thomas from the South West Wales Cancer Institute, UK commented, "The investigation of the molecular biology of thyroid cancer has shown that thyroid cancer in children is very different from that in adults. Attention is turning to the effect that age of the patient may have on other types of cancers. A better understanding of the biology of cancer will help us tailor treatments to different groups of patients in the future."
"Through the catastrophic accident at Chernobyl we have been able to glean further insight into the precise molecular link between radiation and cancer," stated Dr Thomas. "These study findings may have important implications for other ongoing investigations, such as those which are looking at the molecular nature of breast cancer in women who have previously undergone radiotherapy treatment for Hodgkin's disease. There is much debate about whether we in Europe should reconsider nuclear power as an option to meet our increasing energy demands. It is important that we take the opportunity to study the consequences of the Chernobyl accident in a proper scientific way, so that we can balance the risks against the benefits of different solutions to the energy problem in an educated way."
Federation of European Cancer Societies
The overall aim of the study was to compare the genetic mutations found in childhood thyroid cancer sufferers born before and after the accident - and assess the link to radiation exposure or patient age at diagnosis. Overall, 52 cases of PTC were studied, using tissue obtained from the Chernobyl Tissue Bank. These cases were split into four groups matched according to age, sex and place of residence. Two groups of 13 cases were from the areas of Ukraine most heavily contaminated with radioiodine - one group of 13 born before the accident and the other born after the 1st January 1997, and therefore spared exposure to radioiodine. The two other groups of 13 cases were from other areas of the Ukraine which were not exposed to significant radioiodine fallout - again consisting of one group of children with PTC born before the accident and one group born after 1st January 1987.
Molecular biology studies found no difference with respect to type or overall frequency of a particular genetic mutation, known as ret rearrangement, between any of the groups - despite the fact that ret rearrangement had been thought to be a potential marker of radiation exposure. This study therefore shows that, contrary to other reports in the literature, there is no association between ret rearrangement and radiation exposure. Rather, the study investigators believe that the real link between the patterns of molecular biological alterations observed post-Chernobyl in thyroid cancer might actually be related to the age of the patients under study, rather than radioiodine exposure. Only one child out of the 52 studied had a specific gene mutation, known as BRAF, which is typically present at higher levels in adult thyroid cancer sufferers. In contrast, 58% of adult thyroid cancer patients in the Ukraine show this mutation.
Overall, the insights provided by the study of Chernobyl children with thyroid cancer suggest that age at diagnosis of cancer should be taken into account before drawing conclusions about any link between the specific molecular biology of the cancer and radiation exposure - as this may actually have more significance.
Principle study investigator, Dr Gerry Thomas from the South West Wales Cancer Institute, UK commented, "The investigation of the molecular biology of thyroid cancer has shown that thyroid cancer in children is very different from that in adults. Attention is turning to the effect that age of the patient may have on other types of cancers. A better understanding of the biology of cancer will help us tailor treatments to different groups of patients in the future."
"Through the catastrophic accident at Chernobyl we have been able to glean further insight into the precise molecular link between radiation and cancer," stated Dr Thomas. "These study findings may have important implications for other ongoing investigations, such as those which are looking at the molecular nature of breast cancer in women who have previously undergone radiotherapy treatment for Hodgkin's disease. There is much debate about whether we in Europe should reconsider nuclear power as an option to meet our increasing energy demands. It is important that we take the opportunity to study the consequences of the Chernobyl accident in a proper scientific way, so that we can balance the risks against the benefits of different solutions to the energy problem in an educated way."
Federation of European Cancer Societies
Chernobyl Current Events and Chernobyl News RSSOU Part of International Study on Genetic Impact of Radiation
Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center are helping to lead a massive international study on the possible genetic effects of radiation and cancer drug exposures on future generations.
Public attitudes to new technology: Lessons for regulators
New technologies may change our lives for the better, but sometimes they have risks. Communicating those benefits and risks to the public, and developing regulations to deal with them, can be difficult - particularly if there's already public opposition to the technology.
Case Western Reserve University researchers track Chernobyl fallout
When a reactor in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded in 1986 in what was then the Soviet republic of Ukraine, radioactive elements were released in the air and dispersed over the Soviet Union, Europe and even eastern portions of North America.
Researchers discover atomic bomb effect results in adult-onset thyroid cancer
Radiation from the atomic bomb blasts in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945, likely rearranged chromosomes in some survivors who later developed papillary thyroid cancer as adults, according to Japanese researchers.
Fungi the cause of many outbreaks of disease but mostly ignored
Fungi can cause a number of life-threatening diseases but they also are becoming increasingly useful to science and manufacturing every year.
Mailman School PH study finds increase in thyroid diseases risk from exposure at Chernobyl
Persons exposed to radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident as children and adolescents have an increased risk of follicular adenoma or benign tumor of the thyroid gland, according to researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Einstein researchers' discover 'radiation-eating' fungi
Scientists have long assumed that fungi exist mainly to decompose matter into chemicals that other organisms can then use. But researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found evidence that fungi possess a previously undiscovered talent with profound implications: the ability to use radioactivity as an energy source for making food and spurring their growth.
Study details catastrophic impact of nuclear attack on U.S. cities
A new study by researchers at the Center for Mass Destruction Defense (CMADD) at the University of Georgia details the catastrophic impact a nuclear attack would have on American cities.
Prenatal alcohol exposure can alter circadian rhythms in offspring
Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) suffer from a variety of behavioral alterations. For example, they may exhibit alterations in sleeping and eating patterns, which may indicate that their circadian systems - which control biological rhythms - have been affected by alcohol exposure during development.
Chernobyl: The true scale of the accident
A total of up to four thousand people could eventually die of radiation exposure from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (NPP) accident nearly 20 years ago, an international team of more than 100 scientists has concluded.
More Chernobyl Current Events and Chernobyl News Articles
 |
Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster by Svetlana Alexievich (Author), Keith Gessen (Translator) Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award On April 26, 1986, the worst nuclear reactor accident in history occurred in Chernobyl and contaminated as much as three quarters of Europe. Voices from Chernobyl is the first book to present personal accounts of the tragedy. Journalist Svetlana Alexievich interviewed hundreds of people affected by the meltdown---from innocent citizens to firefighters to those called in to clean up the disaster---and their stories reveal the fear, anger, and uncertainty with which they still live. Comprised of interviews in monologue form, Voices from Chernobyl is a crucially important work, unforgettable in its emotional power and honesty. |
 |
Zones of Exclusion: Pripyat and Chernobyl by Robert Polidori (Photographer) In the 11 days following the Chernobyl catastrophe on April 26, 1986, more than 116,000 people were permanently evacuated from the area surrounding the nuclear power plant. Declared unfit for human habitation, the Zones of Exclusion includes the towns of Pripyat (established in the 1970s to house workers) and Chernobyl. In May 2001, Robert Polidori photographed what was left behind in the this dead zone. His richly detailed images move from the burned-out control room of Reactor 4, where technicians staged the experiment that caused the disaster, to the unfinished apartment complexes, ransacked schools and abandoned nurseries that remain as evidence of those who once called Pripyat home. Nearby, trucks and tanks used in the cleanup efforts rest in an auto graveyard, some covered in lead... |
 |
The Legacy of Chernobyl by Zhores A. Medvedev (Author) On the morning of April 26, 1986, a Soviet nuclear plant at Chernobyl (near Kiev) exploded, pouring radioactivity into the environment and setting off the worst disaster in the history of nuclear energy. Now a former Soviet scientist gives a comprehensive account of the catastrophe. Photographs. |
 |
Living with Chernobyl - The Future of Nuclear Power The world's worst nuclear accident occurred in the former Soviet Union on April 26, 1986. Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, sending radioactive debris over a large area of Northern Europe. Dire predictions were made at the time about the consequences of the radioactive fallout. In 2005, to investigate these predictions, journalists Cliff Orloff and Olga Shalygin traveled to the Chernobyl Contamination Zone to talk to survivors still living there. What really happened at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant following the accident? What is fact and what are myth and misconception? In 2006, the United Nations assembled a taskforce of experts, called the Chernobyl Forum, to publish a definitive report about the aftermath of Chernobyl, based on almost 20 years of... |
 |
Chernobyl: Confessions of a Reporter by Igor Kostin (Photographer) On April 26, 1986, Reactor #4 at the V. I. Lenin Nuclear Power Plant near Chernobyl exploded, releasing 400 times more radioactive matter than the bombing of Hiroshima. Igor Kostin, then a reporter for the Novosti Agency, took the very first photograph of the accident, continuing to endure massive radiation overexposure to document the disaster for the International Atomic Energy Agency. For the next twenty years he persistently investigated the explosion's effects on mankind and the environment. This never-seen-before photographic collection tells the incredible stories of liquidators, soldiers, scientists, and residents throughout Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Latvia, Germany, Sweden, and France that have been socially, politically, and medically impacted by the catastrophe,... |
 |
The Truth About Chernobyl by Grigori Medvedev (Author) Grigori Medvedev, a former chief engineer at Chernobyl, was commissioned by the Soviets to investigate the nuclear accident that took place on April 26, 1986. This is Medvedev's own minute-by-minute account of both the disaster and the cover-up. |
 |
Wormwood Forest: A Natural History of Chernobyl by Mary Mycio (Author) In 1986 when the Chernobyl nuclear reactor melted down, 135,000 people were evacuated. Almost twenty years later, the area remains a no-man’s land, with radiation too intense for people to live there safely. Amazingly, though, it is nevertheless home to a unique and extraordinary new ecosystem. When the explosion ripped through the Number Four reactor complex that fateful day, spewing flames and chunks of burning, radioactive material into the air, one of the world’s worst nightmares was realized. As the news gradually seeped out of the USSR and the extent of the disaster was confirmed, it became clear how horribly wrong things had gone. Dozens died – two from the explosion and many more from radiation illness over the following months – while scores of additional people... |
 |
Heavy Water: a film for Chernobyl Starring: none Directed By: David Bickerstaff & Phil Grabsky On April 26th, 1986, reactor four at Chernobyl nuclear power station explodes, sending an enormous radioactive cloud over Northern Ukraine and neighbouring Belarus. The danger is kept a secret from the rest of the world and the nearby population who go about their business as usual. May Day celebrations begin, children play and the residents of Pripyat marvel at the spectacular fire raging at the reactor. After three days, an area the size of England becomes contaminated with radioactive dust, creating a 'zone' of poisoned land. Based on Mario Petrucci's award-winning book-length poem, Heavy Water: a film for Chernobyll tells the story of the people who dealt with the disaster at ground-level: the fire-fighters, the soldiers, the 'liquidators', and their families. Poetry read by... |
 |
Life Exposed: Biological Citizens after Chernobyl (In-formation) by Adriana Petryna (Author) On April 26, 1986, Unit Four of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor exploded in then Soviet Ukraine. More than 3.5 million people in Ukraine alone, not to mention many citizens of surrounding countries, are still suffering the effects. Life Exposed is the first book to comprehensively examine the vexed political, scientific, and social circumstances that followed the disaster. Tracing the story from an initial lack of disclosure to post-Soviet democratizing attempts to compensate sufferers, Adriana Petryna uses anthropological tools to take us into a world whose social realities are far more immediate and stark than those described by policymakers and scientists. She asks: What happens to politics when state officials fail to inform their fellow citizens of real threats to life? What are the... |
 |
Chernobyl Record: The Definitive History of the Chernobyl Catastrophe by R.F Mould (Author) Provides historical scientific record of the events leading up to and the aftermath of Chernobyl. Includes eye-witness records and an extensively illustrated documentary. |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |