Report No. 080 – Induction of Thyroid Cancer by Ionizing Radiation (1985)

The purpose of this Report is to evaluate the potential of exposure to x and gamma external radiation and/or to internally deposited radionuclides to induce thyroid cancer in humans. Any such effort is necessarily subject to the constraint of limited data, and this is particularly true for radionuclides deposited in the thyroid. What human data exist relate primarily to exposure to external x irradiation or, to a much lesser degree, to internally deposited I-131. In spite of such limitations, practical protection procedures require a quantitative assessment of the potential of radiation exposure to induce human thyroid cancer. That potential is most often expressed in terms of the risk of developing radiation induced thyroid cancer. To develop risk estimates, it is necessary to examine the reports and assumptions from existing human and non-human studies. However, the transfer of inferences from animal studies to humans is perilous. In addition, large gaps in the existing data, the low incidence of thyroid cancer, and the small size of populations available for study make risk derivations uncertain. At best, the potential of radiation exposures to cause human thyroid cancer can only be approximated.

Excerpts and Related Information

Table of Contents
Preface