X-rays and leukemia

High-dose X-ray radiation may increase the risk of developing leukemia in children, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health.

Specifically, the researchers found that children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) had nearly twice the number of times they had to be exposed to three X-rays or more than children. suffer from this disease.

For all acute leukemia cells, even an X-ray increases the risk of developing the disease. This finding is published in the International Epidemiology magazine, October 2010, based on a study of leukemia in children surveyed in 35 districts (North and Central). in California, USA.

Currently, while the relationship between high-dose cancer-causing radiation is known, scientists still debate the health effects of low-radiation X-rays. The dose of ionizing radiation is considered to be low from a breast examination by screening X-rays close to the level of radiation that humans will receive in 10 days from the surrounding natural environment.

" Clinical trials have determined that the level of radiation that a child will be exposed to from a normal X-ray will not increase the risk of cancer ," said Patricia Buffler, professor of epidemiology. - UC Berkeley University.

Leukemia is a cancer of blood cells. Nearly all cases of leukemia in children are acute. According to the American Cancer Society, it is the most common cancer in children, accounting for nearly one-third of all cancers in children under 15 years of age.

Researchers emphasize that caution should be exercised in the use of X-rays in children, especially using them only when absolutely necessary to diagnose urgent problems such as respiratory disease and fractures. .

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Ho Duy Binh
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