Abstract
During last decade specialists from Semipalatinsk State Medical Academy, National Cancer Institute and Hiroshima University have been done a really significant contribution to thyroid studies around Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site. In 1998, during thyroid screening (Zh. Zhumadilov and C. Land) thyroid nodules were detected by ultrasound screening of 2998 persons who as children had lived around the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in Kazakhstan. A total of 909 persons with thyroid nodules were identified . Nodule prevalence was positively and significantly (p < .001) associated with dose, with an estimated excess odds ratio per Gy (EOR) of 4.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.6-7.8. In 1999-2002, Studies related to iodine deficiency in the Semipalatinsk region, thyroid dose reconstruction and rehabilitation program of the exposed population have been supported by Hiroshima University, Hiroshima-Semey Project and JICA, Japan (M. Hoshi). Those studies clarified external and internal radiation exposure doses, influences of iodine deficiency, exposure rates and rehabilitation program. Thyroid studies have suggested that genetic factors may play a role. A. Sigurdson and J. Struewing evaluated nodule prevalence, thyroid dose from fallout, and 18 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 10 genes relevant to DNA repair and thyroid tumorigenesis. Study results show that genetic factors are very important and more detailed research is needed in this field.
