Doctor urges more caution in radiation breast screening

Unfortunately, she said, “this is something that isn’t well understood, not just by the public — but by physicians who order the tests.”….

Radiation, Risks Are Focus of Breast Screening Studies, New York Times, By RONI CARYN RABIN : August 24, 2010 When Dr. Deborah Rhodes orders a diagnostic test that involves radiation, she consults a chart in her office that lists the amount of radiation exposure from each test. She considers the patient’s total past exposure, and then carefully weighs the risks and benefits of each test and any alternative approaches she can take.

Two new studies appearing in Tuesday’s issue of the journal Radiology suggest more physicians should take this approach. One study found that certain nuclear-based breast imaging exams that involve injecting radioactive material into patients expose women to far higher doses of radiation than regular mammography, increasing their risk of cancer in vulnerable organs beyond the breast, like the kidneys, bladder or ovaries.

Over all, the United States population’s annual radiation dose from medical procedures increased sevenfold between 1980 and 2006, a second paper reports…..Unfortunately, she said, “this is something that isn’t well understood, not just by the public — but by physicians who order the tests.”….

a single breast-specific gamma imaging or positron emission mammography exam exposes patients to a risk of radiation-induced cancer that is comparable to the risk from an entire lifetime of yearly mammograms starting at 40, according to Dr. Hendrick’s study .Radiation, Risks Are Focus of Breast Screening Studies – NYTimes.com

August 28, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, radiation, radioactive

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Before you draw any final conclusions, you may want to read what experts at the Society of Nuclear Medicine say at http://interactive.snm.org/index.cfm?PageID=10005 :

The Aug. 24 article in The New York Times on breast imaging (“Radiation, Risks Are Focus of Breast Screening Studies”) cautions against tests that expose patients to unnecessary radiation. The Society of Nuclear Medicine supports this position, but notes that the risk of radiation exposure must be viewed in the context of the potential medical benefit for each patient. It is inappropriate to compare the radiation dose from nuclear medicine procedures such as positron emission mammography (PEM) and breast specific gamma imaging (BSGI) used in the diagnosis and care of patients with evidence of disease, with routine digital mammography used for screening. These breast-specific molecular imaging tests provide essential information about the spread of disease and its response to therapy. With this information, physicians can better target therapy for each patient—making personalized medicine not only cost-effective, but also sparing patients from unnecessary surgery or undue anxiety about their health.

Comment by Tara | September 3, 2010 | Reply