[guide.chat] x rays cause brain tumors

From: vanessa <qwerty1234567a@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "GUIDE CHAT" <guide.chat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2012 22:43:33 +0100
Frequent dental X-rays linked to type of brain tumour

Dental hygiene student Sheri Kapustic, left, and Clinical Coordinator Lorraine 
Lockawich look over an X-ray in a dental hygiene clinic at Northampton 
Community College in Bethlehem Township, Pa. Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (The 
Express-Times / Matt Smith)

Updated: Tue Apr. 10 2012 12:27:47 AM
CTVNews.ca Staff

A new study has found a link between frequent dental X-rays and one of the most 
common brain tumours.

Researchers have found that patients in their study who had meningioma, the 
brain tumour most commonly diagnosed in the United States, reported having more 
frequent dental X-rays compared to those in a control group who had never been 
diagnosed with the disease.

The scientists analyzed data from 1,433 patients with meningioma, who were 
between 20 and 70 years of age and lived in Connecticut, Massachusetts, North 
Carolina, the San Francisco Bay area and in eight Houston counties.

Data from these patients was compared to a control group of 1,350 people who 
had never been diagnosed with this type of tumour.

The scientists found that patients with meningioma were more than twice as 
likely in their lifetime to have had a bitewing X-ray, the kind where a tab is 
placed between the teeth.

Patients who said they had received a bitewing X-ray either once a year or more 
frequently were between 1.4 and 1.9 times as likely to be diagnosed with 
meningioma.

The researchers also found a link between the tumour and panorex exams, which 
are taken outside the mouth.

Study subjects who said they had received panorex exams when they were younger 
than 10 years of age had a 4.9-times increased risk of developing meningioma. 
Subjects who reported receiving them on an annual basis, or more frequently, 
were between 2.7 and 3.0 times as likely to develop meningioma.

The findings are published in the online edition of Cancer, the journal of the 
American Cancer Society.

The researchers acknowledge that dental X-rays are often medically necessary. 
However, the findings suggest that it may be beneficial to limit their use on 
some patients, they say.

Dental X-rays are the most common way in which North Americans are exposed to 
ionizing radiation, which is the primary environmental risk factor for 
meningioma.

While patients are now exposed to less radiation than in the past, "the study 
presents an ideal opportunity in public health to increase awareness regarding 
the optimal use of dental X-rays, which unlike many risk factors is 
modifiable," lead study author Dr. Elizabeth Claus, of the Yale University 
School of Medicine and Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, said in a 
statement.

In their conclusion, the researchers point out that the American Dental 
Association recently issued a statement on the need for dentists to weigh the 
potential benefits and risks associated with dental X-rays. The statement 
points out that there is little evidence to support any benefit of using dental 
X-rays to search for disease in patients who are not exhibiting any symptoms.

It also questions the use of regularly scheduled X-rays as part of routine 
dental health care.

The researchers then look to areas of further study. They note that early 
research has suggested, but not confirmed, a link between specific genetic 
variants and the risk of developing meningioma that is associated with exposure 
to ionizing radiation.

"As radiation exposure is in many instances avoidable, the need to identify 
high-risk genetic variants is of great importance to potentially decrease the 
risk of meningiomas and probably other tumours," they write.


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Vanessa The Google Girl.
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[guide.chat] x rays cause brain tumors

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