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Breast Cancer risk increased with new medical radiation techniques

A single BSGI exam was estimated to involve a lifetime risk of fatal cancer 20 to 30 times that of digital mammography in women aged 40 years, while the lifetime risk of a single PEM was 23 times greater than that of digital mammography.

New nuclear breast imaging technologies associated with higher cancer risks — Science Blog, Aug 23 2010, OAK BROOK, Ill. — Some nuclear-based breast imaging exams may increase a woman’s risk of developing radiation-induced cancer, according to a special report appearing online and in the October issue of Radiology.

However, the radiation dose and risk from mammography are very low.“A single breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI) or positron emission mammography (PEM) examination carries a lifetime risk of inducing fatal cancer greater than or comparable to a lifetime of annual screening mammography starting at age 40,” said the study’s author, R. Edward Hendrick, Ph.D., clinical professor of radiology at the University of Colorado-Denver, School of Medicine in Aurora, Co.

The risks and benefits of screening mammography are under constant scrutiny. Meanwhile, newer breast imaging technologies, such as BSGI and PEM have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and introduced into clinical practice. Preliminary studies have shown both to be promising at detecting cancer; however, both involve the injection of radioactive material into the patient…….

Dedicated breast CT and digital tomosynthesis were both found to have an average lifetime risk of fatal breast cancer of 1.3 to 2.6 cases, respectively, per 100,000 women 40 years of age at exposure.

A single BSGI exam was estimated to involve a lifetime risk of fatal cancer 20 to 30 times that of digital mammography in women aged 40 years, while the lifetime risk of a single PEM was 23 times greater than that of digital mammography. In addition, while mammography only slightly increases a woman’s risk for breast cancer, BSGI and PEM may increase the risk of cancers in other organs as well, including the intestines, kidneys, bladder, gallbladder, uterus, ovaries and colon.

New nuclear breast imaging technologies associated with higher cancer risks — Science Blog

August 25, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, health | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, radiation, radioactive