| pubmed-article:6939930 | pubmed:abstractText | Among 1,047 women fluoroscopically examined in average of 102 times during pneumothorax therapy for tuberculosis and followed up to 45 years (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]. However, 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/10(6) woman-year (WY)-rad for lung cancer, 4.8 deaths/10(6) WY-rad for lymphoma, and 12 deaths/10(6) WY-rad for leukemia. These findings indicated that the carcinogenic effect of multiple low-dose X-ray exposures was not greater than that currently assumed. | lld:pubmed |
