1. Management and Coordination: The coordination of the project will be handled by the Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public health (CII). The steering committee comprised of members from both institutes the CII and the Ion Chirocuta Institute of Oncology Cluj-Napoca (IONC) will ensure smooth execution of all the project-related activities.
2. Dissemination: Both institutions will be responsible for communicating the results of the project with the stakeholders in both countries. A website and publications in peer-reviewed journals will also among the means that will be used for effective communication of the projects results.
3. Subjects Recruitment: A case-control study will be conducted in parallel in Cyprus and Romania. Patients with thyroid nodules and healthy individuals will be recruited in both study locations. A detailed questionnaire with all possible exposure sources of BPA (food/water contact materials, canned food, personal care products) and individual household cleaning activities will be administered to all study participants. Additionally, information on thyroid hormone levels and the ultrasound results for the diagnosis of the thyroid nodules will be collected for the subsequent analyses. Urine samples will be collected for both cases and controls and will be analyzed at the facilities of the CII.
4. Sample Analyses: Urine samples will be analyzed for BPA, monochloroBPA and OMC. Samples from Romania will be transferred to CII for analyses.
5. Statistical analyses and interpretation: Descriptive and regression analyses of the gathered information will be conducted including all the gathered information.
6. CY-RO data validation and trends: Study designs, sample collection protocols and questionnaires, including statistical analyses from both countries will be shared, and validated. Protection of all personal data will be ensured throughout the whole project.