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Long-term trend of thyroid cancer risk among Japanese atomic-bomb survivors: 60 years after exposure

  1. Kyoji Furukawa1,†,*,
  2. Dale Preston2,
  3. Sachiyo Funamoto1,
  4. Shuji Yonehara3,
  5. Masahiro Ito4,
  6. Shoji Tokuoka1,
  7. Hiromi Sugiyama1,
  8. Midori Soda1,
  9. Kotaro Ozasa1,
  10. Kiyohiko Mabuchi5

Article first published online: 16 AUG 2012

DOI: 10.1002/ijc.27749

Issue

International Journal of Cancer

International Journal of Cancer

Volume 132, Issue 5, pages 1222–1226, 1 March 2013

Additional Information

How to Cite

Furukawa, K., Preston, D., Funamoto, S., Yonehara, S., Ito, M., Tokuoka, S., Sugiyama, H., Soda, M., Ozasa, K. and Mabuchi, K. (2013), Long-term trend of thyroid cancer risk among Japanese atomic-bomb survivors: 60 years after exposure. Int. J. Cancer, 132: 1222–1226. doi: 10.1002/ijc.27749

Author Information

  1. 1

    Radiation Effects Research Foundation, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan

  2. 2

    Hirosoft International, Eureka, CA

  3. 3

    Welfare Association Onomichi General Hospital, Japan

  4. 4

    National Hospital Organization Nagasaki Medical Center, Nagasaki, Japan

  5. 5

    Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD

  1. †

    Tel.: +81-82-261-3131, Fax: +81-82-263-7279

*5-2 Hijiyama Park, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 732-0815, Japan

  1. †

    Tel.: +81-82-261-3131, Fax: +81-82-263-7279

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 20 DEC 2012
  2. Article first published online: 16 AUG 2012
  3. Accepted manuscript online: 31 JUL 2012 01:49AM EST
  4. Manuscript Accepted: 9 JUL 2012
  5. Manuscript Received: 26 APR 2012

Funded by

  • US National Cancer Institute Intramural Research Program. Grant Number: N01CP31012 N
  • RERF Research Protocols 6-91 and 5-11
  • Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW)
  • U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Grant Number: DE-HS0000031

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Keywords:

  • thyroid cancer;
  • radiation effects;
  • epidemiological cohort study

Abstract

Thyroid cancer risk following exposure to ionizing radiation in childhood and adolescence is a topic of public concern. To characterize the long-term temporal trend and age-at-exposure variation in the radiation-induced risk of thyroid cancer, we analyzed thyroid cancer incidence data for the period from 1958 through 2005 among 105,401 members of the Life Span Study cohort of Japanese atomic-bomb survivors. During the follow-up period, 371 thyroid cancer cases (excluding those with microcarcinoma with a diameter <10 mm) were identified as a first primary among the eligible subjects. Using a linear dose–response model, the excess relative risk of thyroid cancer at 1 Gy of radiation exposure was estimated as 1.28 (95% confidence interval: 0.59–2.70) at age 60 after acute exposure at age 10. The risk decreased sharply with increasing age-at-exposure and there was little evidence of increased thyroid cancer rates for those exposed after age 20. About 36% of the thyroid cancer cases among those exposed before age 20 were estimated to be attributable to radiation exposure. While the magnitude of the excess risk has decreased with increasing attained age or time since exposure, the excess thyroid cancer risk associated with childhood exposure has persisted for >50 years after exposure.

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