Chernobyl and thyroid cancer

Abstract

The most dramatic effect of exposure to fallout from the Chernobyl accident on physical health has been the increase in thyroid cancer. When this was first reported 1,2, there was scepticism in Europe and the US, as it was not thought plausible that exposure to radio-isotopes of iodine in fallout could lead to such an increase in thyroid cancer with such a short latency. This review will discuss the lessons to be learnt from a re-examination of the reasons for the original scepticism, together with what is currently known about the factors that have influenced the development of excess thyroid cancers in those exposed, the number and type of cancers that have occurred, and the interaction between tumor morphology, molecular pathology, clinical behavior, and latent period.