Frequent dental X-rays linked to most common brain tumour
People who received frequent dental x-rays in the past have an increased risk of developing the most commonly diagnosed primary brain tumor in the United States.
That is the finding of a study published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. Although dental x-rays are necessary in many cases, these findings suggest that moderate use of this form of imaging may be of benefit to some patients.
Ionizing radiation is the primary environmental risk factor for developing meningioma, which is the most frequently diagnosed primary brain tumor in the United States. Dental x-rays are the most common artificial source of exposure to ionizing radiation for individuals living in this country.
To examine the link between dental x-rays and the risk of developing meningioma, Elizabeth Claus, MD, PhD, of the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and her colleagues studied information from 1,433 patients who were diagnosed with the disease between the ages of ages 20 and 79 years and were residents of the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, North Carolina, the San Francisco Bay Area, and eight counties in Houston, Texas, between May 1, 2006 and April 28, 2011.
Read the whole article at ecancer.org
Reference
- Claus, E. B., Calvocoressi, L. (2012). Dental x-rays and risk of meningioma Cancer DOI: 10.1002/cncr.26625
Keywords: meningioma, brain tumour, dental x-ray
10. 4. 2012 ecancer.org
