Risk of extrathyroid tumors following radiation treatment in infancy for thymic enlargement

Two thousand eight hundred and fifty-six individuals who received X-ray treatments in infancy for an enlarged thymus gland and their 5053 nonirradiated siblings have been followed prospectively since 1953 to evaluate the risk of radiation-induced neoplastic disease. The health status of the entire cohort has been ascertained periodically by mail questionnaire survey. Based on the cumulative experience of five surveys of this cohort, the irradiated group has a statistically significant increased risk for both benign and malignant extrathyroid tumors, the age-adjusted relative risks being 2.0 and 2.2, respectively. Benign tumors of the bone, nervous system, salivary gland, skin, and breast (females only) and malignant tumors of the skin and breast (females only) account for the excess incidence of extrathyroid tumors among the thymic-irradiated individuals. Although a radiation-induced excess of extrathyroid tumors was suggested in an earlier survey of this cohort, small numbers restricted attribution of this excess to specific sites. The implications of these findings are discussed. Thyroid tumors are addressed in a separate paper.