title: Post-Chernobyl incidence of papillary thyroid cancer among Belgian children less than 15 years of age in April 1986: a 30-year surgical experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We raised the question of a possible relationship in Belgium between the occurrence of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and age of children (<15 years) at the time of the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident in April 1986.
  
  
  METHODS
  Referral university centre for endocrine surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-year prospective study of the experience of a surgical team with PTC since the Chernobyl accident, taken out of 2349 patients operated on for any thyroid lesions from April 1986 to April 2015, comparing the incidence of PTC by age groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  Comparison of PTC incidence in patients >15 years (group A) and children <15 years (group B) in April 1986.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of a total of 2349 patients having undergone thyroid surgery for all types of lesions during 30 year after Chernobyl and born before April 1986, 2164 were >15 years of age at the time of the nuclear accident (group A) and 175 developed PTC (8.1%) compared to 36 PTC (19.5%) that occurred in 185 children <15 years of age (group B) in April 1986 (p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Radiation exposure affected residents of countries (including Belgium) well beyond Ukraine and Belarus. This was demonstrated by a 1990 meteorological report. Over 30 years, there has been a persistent higher incidence of PTC among Belgian children below the age of 15 years at the time of the Chernobyl accident. This relationship with age has even been strengthened by the implementation of more sophisticated immunohistochemical biomarkers diagnostic technology since April 2011.
authors.affiliation: a Services of Surgery, Endocrinology , University of Louvain - Medical School at Mont-Godinne University Hospital , Yvoir , Belgium ;
authors.forename: Luc A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.affiliation: a Services of Surgery, Endocrinology , University of Louvain - Medical School at Mont-Godinne University Hospital , Yvoir , Belgium ;
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Donckier
authors.affiliation: a Services of Surgery, Endocrinology , University of Louvain - Medical School at Mont-Godinne University Hospital , Yvoir , Belgium ;
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rosière
authors.affiliation: b Services of Pathology , University of Louvain - Medical School at Mont-Godinne University Hospital , Yvoir , Belgium.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fervaille
authors.affiliation: a Services of Surgery, Endocrinology , University of Louvain - Medical School at Mont-Godinne University Hospital , Yvoir , Belgium ;
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lemaire
authors.affiliation: a Services of Surgery, Endocrinology , University of Louvain - Medical School at Mont-Godinne University Hospital , Yvoir , Belgium ;
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bertrand
mesh_terms: D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary; D047852:Chernobyl Nuclear Accident; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009381:Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016019:Survival Analysis; D000077273:Thyroid Cancer, Papillary; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D013965:Thyroidectomy / Q000379:methods / Q000401:mortality; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Chernobyl; Fukushima Childhood cancer; nuclear fallout; papillary thyroid carcinoma; radiation exposure; surgery