1. Twenty-five years after Chernobyl: outcome of radioiodine treatment in children and adolescents with very high-risk radiation-induced differentiated thyroid carcinoma.

2. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 98.7 (2013): 3039-3048.

3. After severe reactor emergencies with release of radioactive iodine, elevated thyroid cancer risk in children and adolescents is considered the main health consequence for the population exposed.

4. Outcome after 11.3 years' median follow-up: • 147 (64.2%) attained complete remission. • 69 (30.1%) showed nearly complete remission. • 11 (4.8%) had partial remission. • 2 recurrences (0.9%) after partial remission. • One patient died of lung fibrosis 17.5 years after therapy.

5. Figure 1. scintigrams, showing complete remission of lung metastases (A) first therapy course; date: September 1994 and the last (B); date: November 1995

6. The Chernobyl reactor accident raised fears of a radiation-induced pediatric thyroid cancer epidemic causing high mortality; similar concerns emerged after the Fukushima accident. However, our long-term observational study in a large group of very high-risk Belarusian juveniles with radiation-induced DTC suggests that even when such disease is advanced and initially suboptimally treated, outcomes are generally favorable after appropriate RIT.

7. With respect to the Fukushima incident, due to timely countermeasures (sheltering, evacuation, and a ban on potentially contaminated food and milk), the risk of radiation-induced DTC in children is much lower than it was after Chernobyl) and, if there were any increased pediatric thyroid cancer incidence at all, it is very likely that due to early DTC diagnosis by screening, advanced cases would be avoided.