Accuracy of thyroid cancer diagnosis and surgery in patients with thyroid cancer may be affected by the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site: A collaboration between Nagasaki (Japan) and Semipalatinsk (Kazakhstan) medical centers

Background: From 1949 to 1989, 456 nuclear tests were conducted at the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site (SNTS). Exposure was primarily from the first test in August 1949, an atomic bomb test in 1951, and a thermonuclear bomb test in 1953 that affected the Semipalatinsk region. Surgical procedures for patients with thyroid cancer in Semipalatinsk remain unclear. Assessing the clinical behavior of thyroid cancer in patients affected by the SNTS is crucial for confirming an accurate diagnosis and establishing standardized surgery. The first author has been collaborating with the Semey Oncology Center since 1999 to establish an optimal method to diagnose and perform thyroidectomy and lymph node dissection.Objective: To assess the change in the diagnostic accuracy and thyroid surgery from 1999 to 2008 at Semey Oncology Center in collaboration with the Nagasaki University and Nagasaki Medical Center.Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 169 patients with thyroid cancer who underwent thyroid surgery at the Semey Oncology Center from 1999 to 2008 were evaluated; 125 patients with papillary thyroid cancer were assessed.Results: Before 2001, there were few preoperatively diagnosed thyroid cancer cases; since 2002, the number of preoperatively diagnosed papillary cancer cases increased. From 1999 to 2001, thyroid surgery, including cervical lymph node dissection, was not performed. Partial lobectomy was mainly performed until 2001. Since 2002, total lobectomy was most commonly performed; total thyroidectomy and lymph node dissection were rarely performed.Conclusion: The optimal method for diagnosing thyroid cancer was performed, and an accurate diagnosis changed the surgical procedure