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Radiation Dose from Multidetector CT pp 455–468Cite as

Radiation Risk Associated with Lung Cancer Screening

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Part of the book series: Medical Radiology ((Med Radiol Diagn Imaging))

Abstract

Computed tomographic (CT) cancer screening has seen a steady increase in interest with the introduction of multislice CT scanners. The recent publication of the US National lung screening trial has proven a statistically significant reduction of cancer-related mortality and has boosted the discussion about the usefulness of introducing population-wide screening for lung cancer. While the potential benefits of screening are obvious, radiation dose may pose a long-term risk for the screened individual. This article describes the basis for radiation risk estimation and discusses the current dose controversy with special emphasis on CT screening for lung cancer. While there is no and probably never will be epidemiologic evidence for cancer induction in the dose range used for a single lung cancer screening examination, a non-negligible population risk cannot be ruled out considering the current evidence. Precise predictions of cancer risks are difficult because they depend heavily on the underlying statistical or radiobiologic model. While the risk of most radiation-induced cancers decreases with age, the relative risk of radiation-induced lung cancer peaks in the time interval between 40 and 70 years of age. However, if performed in a dose-conscious fashion, individual risks of lung cancer screening are very small and far outweighed by the published benefits of screening.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Meander Medical Center Amersfoort, Utrechtseweg 160, 3800 BM, Amersfoort, The Netherlands

    Cornelia Schaefer-Prokop & Krijn van Muiswinkel

  2. Department of Radiology, Diagnostic Image Analysis Group, University Hospital Nijmegen, St Radboud, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Cornelia Schaefer-Prokop

  3. Department of Radiology, University Hospital Nijmegen, St Radboud, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Mathias Prokop

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  1. Cornelia Schaefer-Prokop
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  2. Krijn van Muiswinkel
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  3. Mathias Prokop
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Correspondence to Cornelia Schaefer-Prokop .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Radiology, Reseau Hospitaller de Medecine Sociale, Baudour, Belgium

    Denis Tack

  2. Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Fruit St. 55, Boston, 02114, Massachusetts, USA

    Mannudeep K. Kalra

  3. Hôspital Erasme, Department of Radiology, Université libre de Bruxelles, Route de Lennik 808, Brussels, 1070, Belgium

    Pierre Alain Gevenois

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Schaefer-Prokop, C., van Muiswinkel, K., Prokop, M. (2011). Radiation Risk Associated with Lung Cancer Screening. In: Tack, D., Kalra, M., Gevenois, P. (eds) Radiation Dose from Multidetector CT. Medical Radiology(). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/174_2011_491

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/174_2011_491

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-24534-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-24535-0

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