AW: [ RadSafe ] X-rays linked to breast cancer risk

[John Jacobus]

This is an interesting issue as women who have a
predisposition to breast cancer are told to get
mammograms at an earlier age.

--- Rainer.Facius at dlr.de wrote:

> To properly assess the bearing of these results we
> have to remember that repair of DNA damage (from any
> source) is severely impaired in cells carrying these
> genetic defects! From this perspective the findings
> are rather a reminder of the overwhelming importance
> of repair mechanisms - notwithstanding their
> potentially crucial implications for screening
> techniques.
> 
> Regards, Rainer
> 
>  
> 
> Dr. Rainer Facius
> German Aerospace Center
> Institute of Aerospace Medicine
> Linder Hoehe
> 51147 Koeln
> GERMANY
> Voice: +49 2203 601 3147 or 3150
> FAX:   +49 2203 61970
> 
>  
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> 
> Von: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl im Auftrag von
> Dawson, Fred Mr
> Gesendet: Di 27.06.2006 14:04
> An: srp-uk at yahoogroups.com
> Cc: radsafe
> Betreff: [ RadSafe ] X-rays linked to breast cancer
> risk
> 
> 
> 
> Scotsman reports X-rays linked to breast cancer risk
> 
> http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=936332006
> 
> I
> * A chest X-ray could increase the risk of getting
> breast cancer
> * More than 1 in 500 with the susceptible gene face
> a dramatic rise in
> threat
> * Women with the BRCA1 and 2 mutation should opt for
> MRI scans
> 
> Key quote "We must interpret these results with
> caution. This type of
> study has inherent limitations because it relies on
> participants
> recalling the X-rays they have received" - Professor
> John Toy
> Story in full TENS of thousands of women have a
> dramatically increased
> risk of breast cancer if they have a chest X-ray,
> according to research.
> 
> 
> A study found that women genetically susceptible to
> breast cancer were
> 54 per cent more likely to get the disease if they
> had been given a
> chest X-ray. If they were younger than 20 when
> X-rayed, the risk of
> contracting the disease before the age of 40
> increased two and a half
> times.
> The researchers said their results raised questions
> over the use of
> mammograms in diagnosing women from families known
> to have the BRCA 1
> and 2 genetic mutations. They said MRI scans - which
> do not use X-rays -
> might be a better option.
> The BRCA 1 and 2 genes make proteins involved in
> repairing damage to DNA
> in breast cells. Mutations to these genes, which
> affect more than one in
> 500, leave women with a 40 to 80 per cent chance of
> developing breast
> cancer at some point in their lives.
> According to the findings, a chest X-ray would see
> the likelihood of
> some of these women contracting the disease increase
> from a "high"
> chance to "extremely high".
> Some experts said that, if confirmed, the study
> could have "significant
> practice implications" and "could potentially
> eliminate" mammographic
> screening of young women. However, cancer charities
> warned against
> spreading alarm among women about having mammograms,
> saying the study
> was not "conclusive" as it had been based on
> people's memories of having
> had X-rays in the past.
> Dr David Goldgar, who led the research at the
> Genetic Epidemiology Group
> at the International Agency for Research on Cancer
> in Lyons, France,
> said his study was one of the first to demonstrate
> "that women
> genetically predisposed to breast cancer may be more
> susceptible to
> low-dose ionising radiation than other women".
> However, he stressed the need for further study to
> confirm the work, as
> it was based on people's recollections of having
> X-rays.
> More than 1,600 women completed questionnaires
> asking if they had ever
> had chest X-rays. The researchers excluded
> mammograms, saying this would
> prejudice a study based on recollections "because of
> its obvious
> relationship to diagnosis". But they said the
> results "raise the issue
> of the potential risks of mammographic screening",
> which uses X-rays.
> The research appeared in yesterday's edition of the
> Journal of Clinical
> Oncology, and in an accompanying article, Dr Angela
> Bradbury and
> Professor Olufunmilayo Olopade wrote: "If confirmed,
> this study could
> have significant practice implications for the BRCA
> mutation carriers
> and could potentially eliminate mammographic
> screening as a surveillance
> method for early detection of breast cancer in young
> women."
> Professor John Toy, the medical director of Cancer
> Research UK, urged
> women not to panic. He pointed to a Lancet Oncology
> study, published
> earlier this year, which found no association
> between mammograms and
> breast cancer among those with the BRCA mutations.
> On balance, he said, it was worthwhile to have the
> screening to allow
> early detection of cancer - and therefore more
> effective treatment -
> despite the risk the mammogram could kick-start the
> disease. "We must
> interpret these results with caution. This type of
> study has inherent
> limitations because it relies on participants
> recalling the X-rays they
> have received ... [and it] looked at chest X-rays
> and not mammograms,"
> he said.
> However, Prof Toy said that if the study was found
> to be correct, it
> could lead to more use of MRI scans. He gave as an
> example an
> 18-year-old woman with BRCA mutations attending
> hospital with a broken
> rib. "The doctor might say, 'I think you've cracked
> your rib. Normally,
> we'd perhaps take an X-ray and confirm this, but I
> don't think you have
> punctured your lung and you've told me you are a
> BRCA mutation carrier,
> so perhaps we'll agree that we will forgo the
> X-ray'," he said.
> Dr Sarah Rawlings, of the charity Breakthrough
> Breast Cancer, said:
> "This study does not yet offer conclusive evidence.
> It's still important
> for women to attend their breast screening
> appointments as mammography
> can detect breast cancer early, when it is more
> likely to be
> successfully treated."
> 
> 
> Fred Dawson
> 
> Fwp_dawson at hotmail.com
> 
> _______________________________________________
> You are currently subscribed to the RadSafe mailing
> list
> 
> Before posting a message to RadSafe be sure to have
> read and understood the RadSafe rules. These can be
> found at: http://radlab.nl/radsafe/radsaferules.html
> 
> For information on how to subscribe or unsubscribe
> and other settings visit: http://radlab.nl/radsafe/
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> You are currently subscribed to the RadSafe mailing
> list
> 
> 
=== message truncated ===


+++++++++++++++++++
"You get a lot more authority when the workforce doesn't think it's amateur hour on the top floor."
GEN. MICHAEL V. HAYDEN, President Bush's nominee for C.I.A. director.

-- John
John Jacobus, MS
Certified Health Physicist
e-mail:  crispy_bird at yahoo.com

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com