Department of Global Health, Medicine and Welfare, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
PLoS One. 2012;7(11):e50648. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0050648. Epub 2012 Nov 28.
After the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (CNPP), the incidence of thyroid cancer increased among children. Recently, a strong relationship between solid thyroid nodules and the incidence of thyroid cancer was shown in atomic bomb survivors. To assess the prognosis of benign thyroid nodules in individuals living in the Zhitomir region of Ukraine, around the CNPP, we conducted a follow-up investigation of screening data from 1991 to 2000 in the Ukraine.
Participants of this study were 160 inhabitants with thyroid nodules (nodule group) and 160 inhabitants without thyroid nodules (normal control group) intially identified by ultrasonography from 1991 to 2000. All participants were aged 0 to 10 years old and lived in the same area at the time of the accident. We performed follow-up screening of participants and assessed thyroid nodules by fine needle aspiration biopsy.
Among the nodule group participants, the number and size of nodules were significantly increased at the follow-up screening compared with the initial screening. No thyroid nodules were observed among the normal control group participants. The prevalence of thyroid abnormality, especially nodules that could be cancerous (malignant or suspicious by fine needle aspiration biopsy), was 7.5% in the nodule group and 0% in the normal control group (P<0.001).
Our study indicated that a thyroid nodule in childhood is a prognostic factor associated with an increase in the number and size of nodules in individuals living in the Zhitomir region of Ukraine.
切尔诺贝利核电厂（CNPP）事故后，儿童甲状腺癌的发病率增加。最近，在原子弹幸存者中显示出实体甲状腺结节与甲状腺癌发病率之间存在很强的关系。为了评估乌克兰日托米尔地区（位于 CNPP 附近）生活的个体中良性甲状腺结节的预后，我们对 1991 年至 2000 年乌克兰的筛查数据进行了随访调查。
本研究的参与者为 1991 年至 2000 年通过超声最初识别的 160 名甲状腺结节（结节组）和 160 名无甲状腺结节的居民（正常对照组）。所有参与者在事故发生时年龄均在 0 至 10 岁之间，并且居住在同一地区。我们对参与者进行了随访筛查，并通过细针抽吸活检评估甲状腺结节。
与初始筛查相比，结节组参与者的结节数量和大小在随访筛查中显著增加。正常对照组参与者中未观察到甲状腺结节。甲状腺异常的患病率，特别是可癌变的结节（细针抽吸活检为恶性或可疑），在结节组中为 7.5%，在正常对照组中为 0%（P<0.001）。
我们的研究表明，儿童时期的甲状腺结节是与乌克兰日托米尔地区个体中结节数量和大小增加相关的预后因素。
