Female health care workers need better protection from radiation

Female health care workers need better protection from radiation

Female health care workers who are regularly exposed to radiation from X-rays and other imaging procedures need better protection.

Doctors in The BMJ have called for workers to be supplied with more effective ionizing radiation protection to help reduce the chances of them developing breast cancer.

The calls have been made after studies showed that current radiation personal protective equipment (PPE) provides inadequate protection to breast tissue because it leaves the area close to the armpit exposed.

Lead author Isobel Pilkington, a core surgical trainee in Wessex Deanery, and fellow authors said: “Providing adequate breast covering PPE could therefore reduce radiation exposure and potentially help prevent breast cancer in female health care workers.”

The authors highlighted existing observational evidence suggests a link between exposure to ionising radiation at work and breast cancer.

Studies of female US orthopaedic surgeons reported a 2.9-fold to 3.9-fold increase in the prevalence of breast cancer, compared with an age-matched female population.

The risk persisted at double the expected level after sensitivity analysis to address selection bias. Female plastic and urological surgeons, who had similar lifestyles and pregnancy histories to the orthopaedic surgeons, did not share this increased risk.

A small Finnish study highlighted that breast cancer occurred at 1.7-fold the expected rate in radiologists, surgeons, and cardiologists compared with female physicians not working with radiation.

Increased rates of breast cancer have also been found in cohorts of US and Chinese radiological technologists.

Currently, the number of women working at consultant level in the UK trauma and orthopaedic, interventional radiology and cardiology workforces stand at 7 per cent, 12 per cent and 16 per cent respectively.

The authors said: “As the number of female trainees entering these specialities increases, it is essential that the risks are further investigated, available evidence is considered and equipment provision improved to minimise this risk.”

The International Commission on Radiation Protection revised its guidelines in 2007 to double the relative detriment of ionising radiation for breast cancer, due to a historical underestimation of the impact of ionising radiation on breast tissue.

No occupational dose limits exist for breast tissue, in contrast to other radiation sensitive areas such as the eyes and thyroid.

Male breast cancer is rare, accounting for 1 per cent of total cases.