Confounding of the association between radiation exposure from CT scans and risk of leukemia and brain tumors by cancer susceptibility syndromes
Recent studies linking radiation exposure from pediatric computed tomography (CT) to increased risks
of leukemia and brain tumors lacked data to control for cancer susceptibility syndromes (CSS). These
syndromes might be confounders because they are associated with an increased cancer risk and may
increase the likelihood of pediatric CT scans. We identify CSS predisposing to leukemia and brain
tumors through a systematic literature search and summarize prevalence and risk. Since empirical
evidence is lacking in published literature on patterns of CT use for most types of CSS, we estimate
confounding bias of relative risks (RR) for categories of radiation exposure based on expert opinion
about patterns of CT scans among CSS patients. We estimate that radiation-related RRs for leukemia
are not meaningfully confounded by Down syndrome, Noonan syndrome and other CSS. Moreover, tuberous
sclerosis complex, von Hippel –Lindau disease, neurofibromatosis type 1 and other CSS do not
meanin...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - Category: Physics Authors: Johanna M Meulepas, C écile M Ronckers, Johannes Merks, Michel E Weijerman, Jay H Lubin and Michael Hauptmann Source Type: research
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