Cancer epidemiological situation near nuclear facilities

Abstract

Relevance. Development of nuclear technologies and their wide application in medicine, power engineering and industry is always associated with health risks both for employees of nuclear facilities and for the population living in the vicinity of such facilities. Adequate assessment of such risks is possible only on the basis of the results of health monitoring of the personnel of potentially hazardous nuclear facilities and the population living in the vicinity of such facilities. One of the topical directions of research within the framework of such monitoring is assessment of specific morbidity and mortality from malignant neoplasms (MN) (C00-C97 according to ICD-10). Intention. To analyze the main medico-statistical indicators of MN-related morbidity and mortality over time among the personnel of nuclear industry and nuclear power plants and the population living near such facilities, as well as the general population of Russia in 2012-2018. Methodology. We analyzed basic medical and statistical indicators of the morbidity among the personnel of potentially hazardous nuclear facilities and the population with MN living in the vicinity of such facilities; the data was obtained from the Federal Center for Information Technologies of Extreme Problems of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency (FMBA) of Russia. The results were compared with MN incidence in Russia using data from P.A. Herzen Moscow Cancer Research Institute, a branch of the National Medical Research Center for Radiology of the Russian Ministry of Health. Results and Discussion. There is an increase in MN primary incidence rate in the medical institutions of the FMBA and the Ministry of Health of Russia. The congruence of the trends is strongly positive and statistically significant (r = 0.932; p < 0.001), which may indicate a unidirectional influence of factors contributing to MN development in patients of FMBA and Russian Ministry of Health institutions. The average annual rates of primary morbidity (354.2 8.9) per 100,000 people, mortality (158.5 ± 4.2) per 100,000 people and one-year mortality (19.6 ± 0.5) % of patients registered in FMBA medical organizations were statistically significantly lower than those in Russia - (398.0 ± 8.5) per 100,000 population, (200.5 ± 0.6) per 100,000 population and (24.0 ± 0.6) %, respectively. The trend of MN-related mortality rate in the Russian population approached a straight horizontal line, i.e. showed a tendency to stability, in patients of FMBA indicators increased. There was a decrease in one-year MN-related mortality rate and an increase in 5-year survival rate in the departments under consideration. Conclusion. The results of the study may become the basis for developing medical and social rehabilitation measures for employees of the enterprises serviced by FMBA medical organizations, as well as for attached contingents. Continuous monitoring and analysis of oncological morbidity on a personal level using registry technologies are necessary in the areas with potentially hazardous nuclear facilities.