The Effect of Radiologic Imaging Studies on the Risk of Secondary Malignancy Development in Patients with Hodgkin Lymphoma

• Published in: Clinical lymphoma & myeloma 2007-07, Vol.7 (7), p.467-469
• Main Authors: Beyan, Cengiz, Kaptan, Kürşat, Ifran, Ahmet, Öcal, Ramazan, Ulutin, Cüneyt, Öztürk, Bekir
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Computed tomography; Diagnostic imaging; Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Ionizing; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin - diagnostic imaging; Male; Neoplasm Staging - adverse effects; Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced; Neoplasms, Second Primary; Positron emission tomography; Radiation; Risk Factors; Tomography, X-Ray Computed - adverse effects
• ISSN: 1557-9190; 1938-0712
• DOI: 10.3816/CLM.2007.n.028

Recently, reports have been published, which suggest that diagnostic radiologic imaging studies could play a role in the risk of secondary malignancy development in patients with cancer. The aims of our study are to calculate the average amount of accumulated radiation dose gained by means of radiologic imaging studies performed intensively in diagnosis and follow-up of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma and to evaluate whether this amount of accumulation accounts for a real risk for secondary malignancies. This study consists of 15 male patients, whose mean age was 23.67 years ± 4.24 years. All radiologic imaging studies performed in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma were noted in detail, and average radiation dose accumulation was calculated. Median radiation doses to which patients were subjected during a median of 14.5 months of disease duration were 85.19 mSv and 161.08 mSv according to data of the National Radiological Protection Board and Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation VII report, respectively. The cumulative radiation dose, because of radiologic imaging studies, is 8.5-16–times greater than that of the described dose having 1 in 1,000 chance of cancer development according to Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation VII report. Approximately, this amount is equivalent to the dose of natural background radiation received during 35-70 years. Our study demonstrated that radiation dose accumulation because of radiologic imaging studies used in diagnosis, staging, and follow-up of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma was high enough to cause development of secondary malignancies. Finally, it is obvious that the radiologic imaging study policies used in follow-up of these patients should be overviewed.