Cancer mortality after multiple fluoroscopic examinations of the chest

Journal Article · Wed Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1987 · J. Natl. Cancer Inst.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6786899

Davis, F G; Boice, Jr, J D; Kelsey, J L; Monson, R R

Total cancer deaths were not increased among 2074 women and 1277 men who were fluoroscopically examined an average of 73 and 91 times, respectively, during lung-collapse therapy for tuberculosis (TB). Patients who did not receive this form of therapy (2141 women and 1418 men) and general population rates were used for comparison. All subjects were discharged alive from eight TB sanatoria in Massachusetts between 1930 and 1954; the average follow-up was 23 years. Deaths due to breast cancer were not increased among exposed females (standardized mortality ratio (SMR) = 1.0, n = 24), and SMRs greater than 2.1 could be excluded with 95% confidence. In contrast to other series, our inability to detect a breast cancer excess was likely due to lower breast doses (66 rad) and higher average ages at exposure (28 yr) and thus lower sensitivity. A deficit of lung cancer among exposed males and females was observed (SMR = 0.8, n = 26), even though increased risks have been observed among other populations exposed to similar dose levels. The estimated average lung dose was 91 rad, and SMRs greater than 1.2 for lung cancer could be excluded with 95% confidence. Overall, this study indicates that the radiation hazard of multiple low-dose exposures experienced over many years is not greater than currently accepted estimates for breast and lung cancer. For lung cancer the radiogenic risk may be less than predicted from high-dose, single-exposure studies.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Illinois, Chicago
• OSTI ID: 6786899
• Journal Information: J. Natl. Cancer Inst.; (United States), Journal Name: J. Natl. Cancer Inst.; (United States) Vol. 4; ISSN JNCIA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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550602 -- Medicine-- External Radiation in Diagnostics-- (1980-)
560151* -- Radiation Effects on Animals-- Man
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
BACTERIAL DISEASES
BIOMEDICAL RADIOGRAPHY
BODY
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
DISEASE INCIDENCE
DISEASES
DOSES
EPIDEMIOLOGY
FEMALES
FLUOROSCOPY
GLANDS
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
LUNGS
MALES
MAMMARY GLANDS
MEDICINE
NEOPLASMS
NUCLEAR MEDICINE
ORGANS
RADIATION DOSES
RADIATION HAZARDS
RADIOLOGY
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
RISK ASSESSMENT
TUBERCULOSIS