Thyroid cancer in the Marshallese: relative risk of short-lived internal emitters and external radiation exposure

Conference · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1985

OSTI ID:6034636

Lessard, E T; Brill, A B; Adams, W H

In a study of the comparative effects of internal versus external irradiation of the thyroid in young people, we determined that the dose from internal irradiation of the thyroid with short-lived internal emitters produced several times less thyroid cancer than did the same dose of radiation given externally. We determined this finding for a group of 85 Marshall Islands children, who were less than 10 years of age at the time of exposure and who were accidentially exposed to internal and external thyroid radiation at an average level of 1400 rad. The external risk coefficient ranged between 2.5 and 4.9 cancers per million person-rad-years at risk, and thus, from our computations, the internal risk coefficient for the Marshallese children was estimated to range between 1.0 and 1.4 cancers per million person-rad-years at risk. In contrast, for individual more than 10 years of age at the time of exposure, the dose from internal irradiation of the thyroid with short-lived internal emitters produced several times more thyroid cancer than did the same dose of radiation given externally. The external risk coefficients for the older age groups were reported in the literature to be in the range of 1.0 to 3.3 cancers per million person-rad-years-at risk. We computed internal risk coefficients of 3.3 to 8.1 cancers per million person-rad-years at risk for adolescent and adult groups. This higher sensitivity to cancer induction in the exposed adolescents and adults, is different from that seen in other exposed groups. 14 refs., 8 tabs.

• Research Organization: Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-76CH00016
• OSTI ID: 6034636
• Report Number(s): BNL-37335; CONF-851113-3; ON: DE86006245
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560151* -- Radiation Effects on Animals-- Man
560161 -- Radionuclide Effects
Kinetics
& Toxicology-- Man
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ADULTS
AGE GROUPS
BODY
CHILDREN
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DISEASES
ENDOCRINE GLANDS
EXTERNAL IRRADIATION
GLANDS
HUMAN POPULATIONS
INTERNAL IRRADIATION
IRRADIATION
NEOPLASMS
ORGANS
POPULATIONS
RISK ASSESSMENT
THYROID