Understanding Thyroid Cancer in World Trade Center Survivors
Official title: The Effect of WTC Exposure on Thyroid Cancer in the Survivor Population
Funded at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · NIH-11081609 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how exposure to World Trade Center dust might be connected to thyroid cancer in people who were there, especially those who were children or teenagers at the time.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2023 |
| Project end | June 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $499,979 |
| NIH project number | 5U01OH012621-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11081609 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This project focuses on World Trade Center survivors, particularly those who were under 18 years old at the time of exposure and have developed thyroid cancer.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who were not exposed to the World Trade Center dust or do not have thyroid cancer would not directly benefit from this specific research.
What this research studies
We know that people exposed to the World Trade Center dust have a higher chance of developing thyroid cancer, and we want to understand why. This project will compare the characteristics of thyroid cancer in WTC survivors to those in people who were not exposed. We will look closely at clinical details, genetic changes, and how the cancer cells look under a microscope to see if WTC exposure leads to more aggressive forms of thyroid cancer. Our goal is to uncover if specific substances in the WTC dust, called endocrine disruptors, play a role in causing or worsening this type of cancer.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help us better understand, prevent, and treat thyroid cancer in World Trade Center survivors by identifying unique risk factors and disease characteristics.
How similar studies have gone: This is a novel area of inquiry, as thyroid cancer in WTC survivors is largely unstudied, and no prior research has investigated the impact of early life WTC exposure on thyroid cancer aggressiveness.
Where this research is happening
-
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Van Gerwen, Maaike — Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Study coordinator: Van Gerwen, Maaike
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.