The THYROCHEM is a Cyprus-Romania bilateral project that is coordinated by the Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health (CII) within the Cyprus University of Technology and the Ion Chiricuta Institute of Oncology Cluj-Napoca (IOCN) in Romania.

Study sites: Why Cyprus and Romania?

The burden of thyroid diseases in neither Cyprus nor Romania has ever been comprehensively reported and more specifically the incidence of thyroid nodules (lesions of the thyroid gland, most commonly benign that can be diagnosed with ultrasound) has not been the focus of epidemiologic studies. A small proportion of the thyroid nodules can lead to malignancy and thyroid cancer. According to Globocan*, the database of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, thyroid cancer is the 8th most frequently occurring cancer in women worldwide. In Cyprus it is the 3rd most incident cancer and in Romania it ranks 15th. This difference in thyroid cancer incidence among women in Cyprus and Romania may be attributed to various risk factors that affect differently each population and it requires further investigation. Additionally this difference in the incidence of thyroid cancer may be linked with the incidence of thyroid nodules.

Given the influence of environmental factors in cancer development and the links between thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer,this scientific collaboration aims to establish and strengthen research efforts in the environmental and public health risks of thyroid nodular disease that is highly prevalent in both Cyprus and Romania. A particular focus of this project is the investigation of human exposures to specific endocrine-disrupting chemicals and their adverse health effects on thyroid homeostasis.

The expected impacts of the project include:

1.       Establishment of a thyroid-relevant case-control population database in Cyprus and Romania and its bio-bank

2.       Identification of targeted and non-targeted thyroid-disrupting chemicals associated with the development of benign and malignant thyroid nodules

3.       Showcase differential expression profiles of thyroid disrupting parent and metabolite compounds

4.       Quantify the relative contributions of chemical (thyroid-disrupting compounds) and non-chemical stressors (dietary/lifestyle factors) to the development of thyroid nodules.

The study will be run in parallel in both Romania and Cyprus aiming to provide information on common exposures between the two populations and assessing their health outcomes.

*Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Ervik M, Dikshit R, Eser S, Mathers C, Rebelo M, Parkin DM, Forman D, Bray, F. GLOBOCAN 2012 v1.0, Cancer Incidence and Mortality Worldwide: IARC CancerBase No. 11 [Internet]. Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2013. Available from: http://globocan.iarc.fr, accessed on 25/01/2015.