Cancer Occurrences in Radiologists

Radiology has been a commonly used medical practice since the early 1900's. Man-made radiation is used in many different medical fields including oncology, dentistry and nuclear medicine. Research has been done to determine what, if any, cancer occurrences are present among these workers.

The Early Years

• In the early 1900's, workers in radiology were exposed to high doses of ionizing radiation. Research was done on eight cohorts in the field, and researchers discovered that radiologists before the year 1950 were at risk of getting cancer due to their exposure to radiation.

Leukemia

• Leukemia is a malignant cancer that forms in the blood. Studies conducted on radiologists before 1950 showed an increased mortality rate of workers with leukemia.

Other types of Cancer

• While leukemia was the most common form of cancer found in radiologists before 1950, researchers also found that some forms of cancer, such as breast and skin cancer, were also reported.

Today's Risks

• While there is no know protocol for cancer-related risks in the profession today, radiologists do take precautions to keep from exposing themselves to high doses of radiation.

Precautions

• The risks of dangerous exposure to radiation have greatly improved since the 1950's because of fear of cancer. Lower doses of radiation are now used and radiologists take precautions such as wearing vests and conducting scans while they are in a separate closed-off area.