CANCER MORTALITY IN WOMEN AFTER REPEATED FLUOROSCOPIC EXAMINATIONS OF THE CHEST

  • 1 January 1981
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 66  (5) , 863-867
Abstract
Among 1047 women fluoroscopically examined an average of 102 times during pneumothorax therapy for tuberculosis and followed up to 45 yr (average = 27 yr), no increase in the total number of cancer deaths occurred when these women were compared to 717 women who received other treatments [relative risk (RR) = 0.8]. Elevated risks of mortality from stomach cancer (RR = 2.3), rectal cancer (RR = 3.8), breast cancer (RR = 1.2), lung cancer (RR = 1.8) and leukemia (RR = 1.2) were observed but none was statistically significant and all were based on very small numbers of deaths. These increases were balanced by decreases of genital cancer (RR = 0.2), pancreatic cancer (RR = 0.9), lymphoma (RR = 0.6) and all other cancers (RR = 0.1). Average cumulative absorbed doses were 110 rads for the lungs, 33 rads for the trunk, 13 rads for the active bone marrow and 7 rads for the stomach. The following upper levels of excess risk could be excluded with 95% confidence: 3.5 deaths/106 woman-yr(WY)-rad for lung cancer, 4.8 deaths/106 WY-rad for lymphoma and 12 deaths/106 WY-rad for leukemia. The carcinogenic effect of multiple low-dose X-ray exposures was apparently not greater than that currently assumed.