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Deadlier thyroid cancers more common after radiation exposure, study suggests

Deadlier thyroid cancers more common after radiation exposure, study suggestsLast Updated: Monday, April 20, 2009 | 6:15 PM ET Comments5Recommend9CBC NewsThyroid cancer seems to be more aggressive in patients who were exposed to radiation at work or for treatment of another condition, a Canadian study says.Survivors of atomic bombs and children living near areas contaminated by the 1986 nuclear reactor accident in Chernobyl, Ukraine suggest radiation is linked to both benign and malignant thyroid tumours, according to the study in the April issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology — Head & Neck Surgery…………………..

Over an average of 10.6 years of followup, the radiation-exposed group was more likely to:

• Have their thyroid removed (83 per cent versus 38 per cent in the group that wasn’t exposed to radiation).
• Need more surgery (23 per cent versus two per cent).
• Have advanced stage IV disease (16 per cent versus five per cent).
• Have distant metastases, or spread far from the original site (nine per cent versus two per cent).
• Have thyroid cancer at followup (eight per cent versus three per cent).
• Have died of the disease (four per cent versus 1.5 per cent)……………………………..Last week, the Canadian Cancer Society noted that more cases of thyroid cancer are being diagnosed, particularly among young people. The uptick in cases, which was estimated to be 4,300 in 2008 across the country, is attributed to improvements in diagnostic technology.

Deadlier thyroid cancers more common after radiation exposure, study suggests

April 22, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, environment