Thyroid cancer epidemiology in England and Wales: time trends and geographical distribution

Abstract

Thyroid cancer incidence has been increasing in many countries, whereas mortality has been falling due to better survival. Radiation is the best-established risk factor and there has been concern that recent rises in incidence might be related to fallout radiation from atmospheric nuclear weapon tests. We examined thyroid cancer time trends and geographical distribution in England and Wales and possible interpretations of these. During 1962-84, there were significant increases in incidence (P < 0.001) in each sex at ages under 45. Cohort analysis by single year of birth showed an overall increase in incidence risks in women aged 0-44 born since 1920, with a sudden rise in risk for the birth years 1952-55 followed by a lower risk for the more recent cohorts. In men, there was an overall increase in risk at ages 0-44 in successive birth cohorts, but the pattern was irregular. In each sex, the risk in persons aged 45 and over decreased slightly in successive generations. Geographically, highest incidence risks were in countries in North and Mid Wales, in which the risk was almost twice that in the rest of the country. This pattern was present only at ages 45 and over and was most clear in rural areas. The peak of thyroid cancer risk in women born in 1952-55 is consistent with a carcinogenic effect of fallout radiation, since these women were children in the late 1950s and early 1960s when fallout radiation was greatest in England and Wales. The focus of high thyroid cancer risks in Wales was in areas with high levels of fallout radiation. However, thyroid cancer risks in Wales were not high for more recent cohorts (the ones who were exposed to fallout early in life), and a focus on high risk of benign thyroid diseases was present in Wales well before nuclear weapons existed. The distributions of these benign thyroid diseases, or of factors causing them, seem more likely than fallout to explain the high risk areas for thyroid cancer in the country.