Childhood thyroid cancer since accident at Chernobyl

doi:10.1136/bmj.310.6982.801

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V A Stsjazhko,
A F Tsyb,
N D Tronko,
G Souchkevitch,
K F Baverstock

Head Chernobyl Accident Health Effects Department, Ministry of Health, 220097 Minsk, Republic of Belarus
Director Research Institute of Medical Radiology, Academy of Medical Sciences, SU-249020 Obninsk, Russian Federation
Director Kiev Research Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism, 254114 Kiev, Ukraine
Radiation scientist Office of Global and Integraded Environmental Health, World Health Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland
Radiation scientist World Health Organisation, European Centre for Environment and Health, Rome Division, I-00156 Rome, Italy

EDITOR,—We wish to report on a meeting of scientists from the three countries most closely affected by the accident at Chernobyl and from the World Health Organisation to review the programme of screening for and diagnosis of childhood thyroid cancer undertaken since the accident in April 1986. While the central purpose of the screening programme was humanitarian, during the review some of the information compiled was deemed to be of scientific interest.

The table shows that, before the accident, the annual incidences of childhood cancer were in line with spontaneous rates in many other parts of the world. For example, the rate observed during 1962-92 in England and Wales was about 0.5/million (E D Williams, personal communication).

In Belarus …