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. 2015 Sep 23;10(9):e0137226.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137226. eCollection 2015.

Major Factors Affecting Incidence of Childhood Thyroid Cancer in Belarus after the Chernobyl Accident: Do Nitrates in Drinking Water Play a Role?

Valentina M Drozd  1 , Vladimir A Saenko  2 , Alina V Brenner  3 , Vladimir Drozdovitch  3 , Vasilii I Pashkevich  4 , Anatoliy V Kudelsky  4 , Yuri E Demidchik  5 , Igor Branovan  6 , Nikolay Shiglik  6 , Tatiana I Rogounovitch  7 , Shunichi Yamashita  8 , Johannes Biko  9 , Christoph Reiners  9
Affiliations

Major Factors Affecting Incidence of Childhood Thyroid Cancer in Belarus after the Chernobyl Accident: Do Nitrates in Drinking Water Play a Role?

Valentina M Drozd et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

One of the major health consequences of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident in 1986 was a dramatic increase in incidence of thyroid cancer among those who were aged less than 18 years at the time of the accident. This increase has been directly linked in several analytic epidemiological studies to iodine-131 (131I) thyroid doses received from the accident. However, there remains limited understanding of factors that modify the 131I-related risk. Focusing on post-Chernobyl pediatric thyroid cancer in Belarus, we reviewed evidence of the effects of radiation, thyroid screening, and iodine deficiency on regional differences in incidence rates of thyroid cancer. We also reviewed current evidence on content of nitrate in groundwater and thyroid cancer risk drawing attention to high levels of nitrates in open well water in several contaminated regions of Belarus, i.e. Gomel and Brest, related to the usage of nitrogen fertilizers. In this hypothesis generating study, based on ecological data and biological plausibility, we suggest that nitrate pollution may modify the radiation-related risk of thyroid cancer contributing to regional differences in rates of pediatric thyroid cancer in Belarus. Analytic epidemiological studies designed to evaluate joint effect of nitrate content in groundwater and radiation present a promising avenue of research and may provide useful insights into etiology of thyroid cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Content of iodine in soil of Belarus (mg/kg).
I: 0.56–0.64; II: 0.87–0.94; III: 1.3–1.39; IV: 1.6–4.2; V: 5.0–18.2. The original map is derived from ref. [43] and is presented with minor modifications.
Fig 2
Fig 2. 131I deposition density (kBq/m2) in the soil of Belarus as of May 10, 1986 [11].
Borders and administrative centers of oblasts are highlighted in violet.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Nitrate concentration (mg/L) in groundwater from open wells in different areas of Belarus in 1988–1990.
Borders and oblast administrative centers are highlighted in violet.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Recapitulation of the combination effect of radiation and nitrates on thyroid cancer risk.
Exposure to both radiation and high levels of nitrates is proposed to increase risk for developing thyroid cancer.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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