Radiation Exposure Linked to Aggressive Thyroid Cancers
MONDAY, April 20 (HealthDay News) -- Thyroid cancer patients who've previously been exposed to radiation have more aggressive disease and worse outcomes than other patients, a new study finds.
Researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto studied 125 thyroid cancer patients who'd been exposed to radiation -- for example, in the workplace, through environmental exposure, or for treatment of acne or other benign conditions -- at least three years before they had surgery for their thyroid cancer.
The average age of the patients at time of radiation exposure was 19.4 years, and their thyroid cancers were diagnosed an average of 28.7 years later. The patients were followed for an average of 10.6 years after diagnosis. During that time, 16 percent suffered a recurrence of thyroid cancer, and 9 percent had cancer that spread to other areas of the body (distant metastases). At the final follow-up, 86 percent were alive and cancer-free, 4 percent were alive with recurrent thyroid cancer, 4 percent were alive with distant metastases, 4 percent had died of their cancer, and 2 percent had died of unrelated causes.
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