Risk of Solid Cancers following Radiation Exposure: Estimates for the UK Population RCE 19

Synopsis

There is understandable concern about the risks to health of ionising radiation arising from natural and man-made radioactive materials, including medical X rays. In 1995 the Director of the then National Radiological Protection Board (now part of the Health Protection Agency) set up an Advisory Group on Ionising Radiation (AGIR):

'to review work on the biological and medical effects of ionising radiation relevant to human health in the occupational, public health, medical and environmental fields and advise on research priorities'

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has a statutory responsibility for advising UK government departments and others on health effects of radiation and appropriate standards of protection. The AGIR is an independent body reporting to the HPA Board. Full details of the current work of the AGIR can be seen at www.hpa.org.uk.

This report is one of nine prepared by the AGIR and its subgroups set up to focus on specific topics. It covers the risk of ionising radiation on the development of 'solid' cancers such as cancers of the lung, prostate and breast, but excludes cancers such as leukaemia and lymphoma.

The specific remit of the Subgroup on Solid Cancer Risk was to review information on the risk of solid cancer following exposure to ionising radiation and to derive risk estimates for the UK population, taking into account uncertainties in the estimates. This report complements an earlier AGIR report entitled Risk of Leukaemia and Related Malignancies following Radiation Exposure, published in 2003. The two reports taken together therefore provide a comprehensive description of the risks of cancer due to ionising radiation exposure in the UK. As with the other AGIR subgroups, the objective was to provide scientific assessment and interpretation, not to make recommendations relating to radiological protection policy - these are matters for which the HPA and its Board are responsible.

The report is necessarily detailed and comprehensive. The introduction (Chapter 1) gives basic information on ionising radiation, how it is measured and how risks to various parts of the body are assessed. Chapters 2 and 3 give the scientific detail, and Chapter 4 focuses on the radiation risks to the UK population including methodological aspects of how risk is quantified, with examples of the risk for specific screening activities, such as mammography screening for breast cancer and CT scanning of the heart for ischaemic heart disease. Chapter 5 provides a brief overall summary with conclusions. A glossary is provided and details of the calculation of radiation risks are given in the appendices.
 

Last reviewed: 26 April 2012