Table 3: Major thyroid nodules types*, total (internal and external) mean thyroid-absorbed dose, and time from exposure (1954) to time of surgery, grouped by age.** Column A B Cc D E Type of Benign Total of (n) Thyroid Years to Cancer Percent Dose +/-SD +/-SD Benign (16)*** 16:1 62 3289+ /-1323 Benign (5) | 1,25:1 9 7 7 1415+ /-150 970 + /-689 20+ /-9 19+ /-5 Utirik <10 yr (n=57) Benign (7) Cancer (2) Adenomatous (3) nodules 3.5:1 12 4 5 509 + /-137 526 478 + /-178 28+ /-3 26 28+ /-3 Utirik >10 yr (n= 102) Benign (12) Cancer (3) Adenomatous (7) 4.0:1 11 3 7 198 + /-41 168 + /-6 171+ /-0 24+ /-4 22+ /-8 23+ /-8 Nodule (n) Rong <10 yr (n=26) Rong >10 yr (n= 54) Cancer (1) Adenomatous(16) nodules Cancer (4) Adenomatous (4) nodules Ratio 4 62 nodules 2490 3289+ /-1323 856+ /-649 Surgery 14+/-4 15 14+/-4 19+ /-5 nodules over? Inspection of Fig. 4a shows that the answerto (1) is in the affirmative, at least for the Rongelap people. No adenomatous nodule has been found at surgery for 12 years. The detection of adenomatous nodules spanned 15 years beginning 9 years after exposure. For the Utirik group, detection spanned 12 years, beginning 19 years after exposure. For question (2), the answer is less clear. Although only 1 neoplastic nodule (a carcinoma) has been diagnosed in the past 10 years in the Rongelap population, several have been found in the Utirik group during the same period (Fig. 4b). A striking observation is the virtually identical percentof neoplastic lesions that have occurred over thirty-six years of observation in the two exposed groups, being 8 individuals for the 86 Rongelap persons (9.3%) and 15 individuals for the 167 Utirik persons (9.0%). Given the great differences between the two groups in total-body and thyroidabsorbed radiation doses, it is clear that (1) other factors, such as the possibility of thyroid cell killing 18 OLINem * If two thyroid nodules occurred in the same individual only the “higher grade” nodule was counted. ** Ten years of age is used as cut-off for the younger group because Rongelap children below this age received a mean thyroid-absorbed dose of >2000 cGy and thereby sustained extensive thyroid injury, a factor that influenced nodule type. All others received lower doses. Two in Utero Rongelap children who received <2000 cGy are not included in the table. *** "Benign" nodules include adenomatous nodules, adenomas, and occult papillary carcinomas.