Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused thyroid cancer
posted in Cancer |The scientists who conducted this study say it is likely that those who developed this cancer has suffered a “redistribution chromosomal” known RET / PTC
The atomic bombs dropped by U.S. against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 altered chromosomes in some survivors who developed thyroid cancer, according to a study by Japanese scientists.
Research published in the journal Cancer Research, indicated that subjects who lived near the blast sites were young men who developed cancer upon reaching adulthood.
According to scientists from the Foundation for Research on Radiation Effects in Hiroshima, it is likely that these cancer patients have suffered a “redistribution chromosomal” known RET / PTC, which is not common in adults who develop the disease.
Kiyohiro Hamatani, lead author of the research, the report indicates that studies suggest that a single genetic factor may be sufficient for cell transformation in the thyroid gland and tumor development.
According Hamatani, thyroid cancer is linked to internal and external exposure to radiation and that this effect has been demonstrated in other fallout as recorded in the Chernobyl nuclear plant in 1986.
The scientist added that after the accident the children who developed papillary thyroid cancer were also the redeployment, although it was slightly different from Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The researchers conducted a comparative study of cancer patients with RET / PTC and others with a mutation known as BRAF, which is linked to more than 70 percent of patients with this disease have not been exposed to radiation .
The analysis revealed that in patients with RET / PTC was found that the disease is manifested by effects of increased radiation dose.
Moreover, the emergence of cancer occurred in close relationship with the patient’s age.
“This means that when younger was the person who lived near the points where the bombs went off was more likely that a finding of thyroid cancer in adulthood. This is the first time it shows,” said the scientist.
However, so far the researchers do not know how radiation causes this redistribution RET / PTC.
It could be by direct DNA damage or genomic instability induced by radiation, he added.