X-Rays May Raise Cancer Risk
FOXNews.com - X-Rays May Raise Cancer Risk: "X-Rays May Raise Cancer Risk
Thursday, June 30, 2005
By Miranda Hitti
No dose of low-level radiation is too small to rule out a 'small' increase in cancer risk for humans, say researchers.
They reviewed data on the topic for the National Research Council. The council is part of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The report updates information from the 1990 findings, which is based mostly on survivors of the 1945 atomic bomb attacks against Japan.
'The scientific research base shows that there is no threshold of exposure below which levels of ionizing radiation can be demonstrated to be harmless or beneficial,' says Richard Monson, MD, ScD, in an NAS news release.
Monson chaired the committee that wrote the report. He is also associate dean for health education and an epidemiology professor at Harvard School of Public Health.
Take Web MD's Quiz: How Much Do You Know about Cancer?
'Very Small' Risk at Low Doses
'The health risks -- particularly the development of solid cancers in organs -- rise proportionally with exposure,' says Monson.
'At low doses of radiation, the risk of inducing solid cancers is very small. As the overall lifetime exposure increases, so does the risk,' says Monson.
The researchers define low-dose radiation as those ranging from close to zero to about 100 millisieverts. The radiation dose from one chest X-ray is about 0.1 millisieverts. A whole-body CT scan delivers about 10 millisieverts, say the researchers.
Researchers' Estimate
The report's predictions are based on information from survivors of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. It estimates that about one in 100 people in the U.S. would be expected to develop solid cancer or leukemia from a dose of 100 millisieverts, say the researchers.
For perspective, they say 42 in 100 people would be expected to develop cancer from other causes.
Some Sources Are Natural
Low-level radiation is used in th"
Thursday, June 30, 2005
By Miranda Hitti
No dose of low-level radiation is too small to rule out a 'small' increase in cancer risk for humans, say researchers.
They reviewed data on the topic for the National Research Council. The council is part of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The report updates information from the 1990 findings, which is based mostly on survivors of the 1945 atomic bomb attacks against Japan.
'The scientific research base shows that there is no threshold of exposure below which levels of ionizing radiation can be demonstrated to be harmless or beneficial,' says Richard Monson, MD, ScD, in an NAS news release.
Monson chaired the committee that wrote the report. He is also associate dean for health education and an epidemiology professor at Harvard School of Public Health.
Take Web MD's Quiz: How Much Do You Know about Cancer?
'Very Small' Risk at Low Doses
'The health risks -- particularly the development of solid cancers in organs -- rise proportionally with exposure,' says Monson.
'At low doses of radiation, the risk of inducing solid cancers is very small. As the overall lifetime exposure increases, so does the risk,' says Monson.
The researchers define low-dose radiation as those ranging from close to zero to about 100 millisieverts. The radiation dose from one chest X-ray is about 0.1 millisieverts. A whole-body CT scan delivers about 10 millisieverts, say the researchers.
Researchers' Estimate
The report's predictions are based on information from survivors of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. It estimates that about one in 100 people in the U.S. would be expected to develop solid cancer or leukemia from a dose of 100 millisieverts, say the researchers.
For perspective, they say 42 in 100 people would be expected to develop cancer from other causes.
Some Sources Are Natural
Low-level radiation is used in th"
posted by Greta Jane at Friday, July 01, 2005
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