Material available


The study cohort includes all those who were resident in the areas of Ukraine and Russia contaminated by radioactive fallout from the accident and who were aged under 19 at exposure (i.e. born after 26th April 1967). Thyroid cancer in those who were children or adolescents at exposure is the only cancer to have shown a substantial increase in these areas and it is clearly related to exposure to radioiodine (predominantly the short lived isotopes – particularly 131I, which has a half life of 8.1 days). This is evidenced by the sharp decrease in the frequency of thyroid cancer (returning to pre-accident levels) in those who were born after 1/1/87 and were therefore not exposed to radioiodine either in utero (the thyroid concentrates iodine from 3 months of intrauterine age) or in childhood. The cohort now includes a significant number of cases of thyroid tumours from patients who are resident in the areas contaminated by fallout from Chernobyl, but by virtue of the fact that they were born after 1/1/87 have not been exposed to radioiodine. This is an extremely valuable cohort that serves as a control population for thyroid cancer associated with radioiodine exposure.

The CTB collects a variety of different types of biospecimen from patients undergoing operations for thyroid cancer or adenoma in the Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism in Kiev, Ukraine and the Medical Radiological Research Centre in Obninsk, Russian Federation who consent to donate to the project. Tissue is collected to an approved standard operating procedure (SOP) and is snap frozen; the presence or absence of tumour is verified by frozen section. A representative paraffin block is also obtained for each case. Where appropriate, we also collect fresh and paraffin-embedded tissue from loco-regional metastases. Currently we do not issue tissue but provide extracted nucleic acid, paraffin sections and sections from tissue microarrays from this material.

Histological slides from all tumours are reviewed by the CTB Pathology Panel - an international group of expert thyroid pathologists, and a consensus diagnosis agreed before any materials are released to researchers.
The CTB provides materials and data to research groups worldwide. Briefly, the process involves submission of a formal application, followed by review by an external panel. Approval for access is based on the reports from the review panel and, if necessary, review by the Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board.
For more information on how you can apply to the CTB to access biomaterials or research data click here.


The on-line application process allows a potential applicant to review whether samples or data matching the researcher’s search criteria are available in the CTB. The table below provides a summary of the cumulative total of cases from Ukraine and the Russian Federation, which have been reviewed by the Pathology Panel and a consensus diagnosis agreed; the number of cases for which frozen material is available is given in brackets.

Table updated 03.01.2013

The total number of cases included in the CTB is 3566. Of these 69% are resident in the contaminated oblasts and 87% of these were born before 01/12/1986 and therefore exposed to radioiodine at 3 months of intrauterine age or older. A total of 13% were born after 01/12/1986 and therefore not exposed to radioiodine in fallout.

More information:
Aliquots of nucleic acid
Paraffin sections
Tissue Micro Arrays