DNA Content Analysis Of Thyroid Carcinomas Arising In Belarusian Patients Following The Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster.
P.I. Fukushima, E. Cherstvoy**, D.J. Venzon, P.K.T. Nguyen, G. Oliver, and M. Stetler-Stevenson*, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA, **Minsk State Medical Institute, Minsk, Belarus
DNA content analysis was performed in 89 (52 pediatric, 37 adult) cases of thyroid carcinomas (TC) from the Chernobyl disaster fall out region. The proportion of pediatric cases was high (58%)and was greatest in regions receiving higher radiation doses. There was an increased incidence of males (46%) among the pediatric group (PG) compared to 16% in the adult group (AG) and to SEER data among non-radiation exposed (NRE) patients (30%). The incidence of follicular variant(42%) was increased in the PG compared to previously published data on NRE pediatric groups(10-20% follicular). There is no significant difference in the presence of aneuploidy between the AG (51% diploid) and PG (58% diploid) or in association with region radiation exposure. Aneuploidy and S-phase values are consistent with those observed in NRE patients in the United States. There is a trend to higher S-phase in the PG with no significant correlation to region radiation exposure. There is, however, a significant correlation of higher S-phase with the presence of aneuploidy that is almost entirely due to the PG in the high radiation region. There is no significant correlation between S-phase or aneuploidy with prognosis,although this may be due to the excellent treatment response in this disease and insufficient followup time. We conclude there is an association between high S-phase and aneuploidy in pediatric TC patients exposed to radiation.