High Thyroid Cancer Incidence Rate in a Community near a Landfill: A Descriptive Epidemiological Assessment

Background: to investigate the high thyroid cancer incidence rate of Staten Island and to disentangle the effects of potential environmental exposure from a landfill from screening. Methods: age-adjusted thyroid cancer incidence rates obtained from the New York State Public Access Cancer Epidemiology Data for New York State (NYS) excluding New York City (NYC) and the five NYC boroughs, including Staten Island, were mapped over time (1995–2018), investigated per age group and by percentage of localized thyroid cancer. Changes in trends were assessed using joinpoint. Contaminants of concern on Staten Island were assessed for carcinogenic and endocrine disruptive properties. Results: a more pronounced thyroid cancer incidence rate increase, without a difference in age distribution and similar percentages of localized thyroid cancer, was found in Staten Island compared to its demographic equivalent (NYS excluding NYC). Multiple contaminants of concern with carcinogenic and endocrine disrupting properties (e.g., cadmium, lead) were identified in air, water and sediment samples. Conclusion: investigations into the effects of increased/sustained environmental exposures are needed in chronically exposed populations to identify potential mechanisms of action of certain pollutants.

Spatial distribution and determinants of thyroid cancer incidence from 1999 to 2013 in Korea

We evaluated the spatial variation in thyroid cancer incidence and its determinants in Korea considering its importance in cancer prevention and control. This study was based on the ecological design with cancer incidence data by administrative district from the National Cancer Center and regional characteristics generated from the Korea Community Health Survey Data. We identified spatial clusters of thyroid cancer incidences based on spatial scan statistics. Determinants of regional variation in thyroid cancer incidence were assessed using the Besag-York-Mollie model with integrated nested Laplace approximations. Spatial clusters for low and high thyroid cancer incidences were detected in the northeastern and southwestern regions, respectively. Regional variations in thyroid cancer incidence can be attributed to the prevalence of recipients of basic livelihood security (coefficient, − 1.59; 95% credible interval [CI], − 2.51 to − 0.67), high household income (coefficient, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.31 to 0.76), heavy smoking (coefficient, − 0.91; 95% CI, − 1.59 to − 0.23), thyroid dysfunction (coefficient, 3.24; 95% CI, 1.47 to 5.00), and thyroid cancer screening (coefficient, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.09 to 0.67). This study presented the spatial variations in thyroid cancer incidence, which can be explained by the prevalence of socioeconomic factors, thyroid cancer screening, thyroid dysfunction, and smoking.

Ambient air pollution exposure and thyroid cancer incidence in Iran

Introduction: Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignant that is three times more prevalent in women than men. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has been indicated to affect Thyroid Hormone (TH) homeostasis. We sought to estimate the association between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and the incidence of thyroid cancer in the Iranian female population. Materials and methods: We extracted thyroid cancer incidence and ambient air pollution data from Iran from 2000 to 2019 for males and females for all age groups from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) dataset. We entered the data into Joinpoint to present Annual Percent Change (APC) and Average Annual Percent Change (AAPC) and its confidence intervals. We entered the information into R3.5.0. Results: Thyroid cancer in females had an upward trend [AAPC=4.9% (4.2-5.6)]. There was a correlation between ambient PM pollution (p≤0.001, r=0.84) and ambient ozone pollution (p≤0.001, r=0.94), and the incidence of thyroid cancer in females. The results of the analysis also showed a significant relationship between thyroid cancer incidence in females and secondhand smoke (p≤0.001, r=0.74). Conclusion: This study indicated increasing trends in thyroid cancer incidence with exposure to ambient air pollution. Our novel findings provide additional insight into the potential associations between risk factors and thyroid cancer and warrant further investigation, specifically in areas with high levels of air pollution both nationally and internationally. However, causal relationships cannot be fully supported via ecological studies, and this article only focuses on Iran.