Methods and criteria for selecting groups at risk of cancer from population of Russia and Belarus, residing in areas contaminated with radionuclides following the Chernobyl accident, for organization of targeted specialized medical assistance

The article presents method for selecting groups at risk of cancer from population of Russia and Belarus, residing in areas contaminated with radionuclides following the Chernobyl accident, for organization of targeted specialized medical assistance. The method can also be used for fulfillment of the Requirement 49 of the IAEA International Basic Safety Standards, which concerns estimating the extent of post-remedial control measures and verifying effectiveness of remedial actions with account of residual radiation risk. Groups at risk were selected from the personal data of those registered at the Unified Chernobyl Registry of Russia and Belarus with account of reference risk levels for such radiation associated diseases as leukemias, breast cancer and thyroid cancer. As of 2016, the group at risk of leukemia comprises 31933 people, the level of lifetime attributable risk fraction (LARF) in this group exceeds 70%, the group at risk of breast cancer comprises 15790 people and the group at risk of thyroid cancer comprises 12668 people, the LARF value in both groups exceeds 50% of corresponding maximum levels of LARF in the same year. The overall size of the selected groups at risk of cancer under study comprising population living in contaminated areas of Bryansk and Gomel oblasts is 60391 in 2016.