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Estimated risk of radiation-induced cancer from paediatric chest CT: two-year cohort study

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Abstract

Background

The increasing absolute number of paediatric CT scans raises concern about the safety and efficacy and the effects of consecutive diagnostic ionising radiation.

Objective

To demonstrate a method to evaluate the lifetime attributable risk of cancer incidence/mortality due to a single low-dose helical chest CT in a two-year patient cohort.

Materials and methods

A two-year cohort of 522 paediatric helical chest CT scans acquired using a dedicated low-dose protocol were analysed retrospectively. Patient-specific estimations of radiation doses were modelled using three different mathematical phantoms. Per-organ attributable cancer risk was then estimated using epidemiological models. Additional comparison was provided for naturally occurring risks.

Results

Total lifetime attributable risk of cancer incidence remains low for all age and sex categories, being highest in female neonates (0.34%). Summation of all cancer sites analysed raised the relative lifetime attributable risk of organ cancer incidence up to 3.6% in female neonates and 2.1% in male neonates.

Conclusion

Using dedicated scan protocols, total lifetime attributable risk of cancer incidence and mortality for chest CT is estimated low for paediatric chest CT, being highest for female neonates.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the Cancer League of Basel-City and Basel-Country and the Gottfried and Julia Bangerter-Rhyner Foundation. The study sponsors had no role in matters of design, collection, analysis, interpretation of data, and writing the report.

Conflicts of interest

None

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Cantonal Hospital Baden, Im Ergel 1, 5400, Baden, Switzerland

    Tilo Niemann

  2. Department of Thoracic Imaging, Hospital Calmette, University Lille Nord de France, Boulevard Jules Leclercq, F-59037, Lille Cedex, France

    Tilo Niemann, Lucie Colas, Teresa Santangelo, Jean Baptiste Faivre, Jaques Remy & Martine Remy-Jardin

  3. Clinic of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Medical physics, University of Basel Hospital, Petersgraben 4, 4031, Basel, Switzerland

    Hans W. Roser & Jens Bremerich

Authors
  1. Tilo Niemann
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  2. Lucie Colas
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  3. Hans W. Roser
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  4. Teresa Santangelo
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  5. Jean Baptiste Faivre
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  6. Jaques Remy
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  7. Martine Remy-Jardin
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  8. Jens Bremerich
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Correspondence to Tilo Niemann.

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Niemann, T., Colas, L., Roser, H.W. et al. Estimated risk of radiation-induced cancer from paediatric chest CT: two-year cohort study. Pediatr Radiol 45, 329–336 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-014-3178-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-014-3178-7

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