Pre-1950 X-Ray Technicans Had Higher Risk of Breast Cancer

Female x-ray technicians are at a lower risk of developing breast cancer than in prior years when radiation exposure limits were much higher, according to U.S. researchers.

Researchers evaluated breast cancer mortality through 1997 among 69,525 female x-ray technicians who were certified in the United States between 1926 and 1982. The technicians were sent a questionnaire that asked about work history and practices.

Breast cancer mortality risk was highest among women who were first employed as x-ray technicians before 1940 compared with the risk of those first employed in 1960 or later, and the risk declined with more recent years of first employment, according to the study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The breast cancer mortality risk increased with increasing number of years of employment as a technician prior to 1950. However, risk was not linked with the total number of years a woman worked as an x-ray technician.

Technicians who first performed fluoroscopy (x-ray where organs are seen in motion) and multifilm procedures before 1950 had significantly higher risks compared with those who first performed the procedures in 1960 or later.

"The high risks of breast cancer mortality for women exposed to occupational radiation prior to 1950 and the subsequent decline in risk are consistent with the dramatic reduction in recommended radiation exposure limits over time," concluded the researchers.

Other sources: Journal of the National Cancer Institute