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. 2023 Dec;29(12):3111-3119.
doi: 10.1038/s41591-023-02620-0. Epub 2023 Nov 9.

Risk of hematological malignancies from CT radiation exposure in children, adolescents and young adults

Magda Bosch de Basea  1   2   3 , Isabelle Thierry-Chef  1   2   3   4 , Richard Harbron  1   2   3   5 , Michael Hauptmann  6 , Graham Byrnes  4 , Maria-Odile Bernier  7 , Lucian Le Cornet  8   9 , Jérémie Dabin  10 , Gilles Ferro  4 , Tore S Istad  11 , Andreas Jahnen  12 , Choonsik Lee  13 , Carlo Maccia  14 , Françoise Malchair  14 , Hilde Olerud  11   15   16 , Steven L Simon  13 , Jordi Figuerola  1   2   3 , Anna Peiro  1   2   3 , Hilde Engels  10 , Christoffer Johansen  17 , Maria Blettner  8 , Magnus Kaijser  18 , Kristina Kjaerheim  19 , Amy Berrington de Gonzalez  13   20 , Neige Journy  7   21 , Johanna M Meulepas  22 , Monika Moissonnier  4 , Arvid Nordenskjold  18 , Roman Pokora  8 , Cecile Ronckers  6   8 , Joachim Schüz  4 , Ausrele Kesminiene  4 , Elisabeth Cardis  23   24   25
Affiliations

Risk of hematological malignancies from CT radiation exposure in children, adolescents and young adults

Magda Bosch de Basea et al. Nat Med. 2023 Dec.

Erratum in

  • Author Correction: Risk of hematological malignancies from CT radiation exposure in children, adolescents and young adults.
    Bosch de Basea M, Thierry-Chef I, Harbron R, Hauptmann M, Byrnes G, Bernier MO, Le Cornet L, Dabin J, Ferro G, Istad TS, Jahnen A, Lee C, Maccia C, Malchair F, Olerud H, Simon SL, Figuerola J, Peiro A, Engels H, Johansen C, Blettner M, Kaijser M, Kjaerheim K, Berrington de Gonzalez A, Journy N, Meulepas JM, Moissonnier M, Nordenskjold A, Pokora R, Ronckers C, Schüz J, Kesminiene A, Cardis E. Bosch de Basea M, et al. Nat Med. 2025 Jul;31(7):2452. doi: 10.1038/s41591-025-03689-5. Nat Med. 2025. PMID: 40217080 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract

Over one million European children undergo computed tomography (CT) scans annually. Although moderate- to high-dose ionizing radiation exposure is an established risk factor for hematological malignancies, risks at CT examination dose levels remain uncertain. Here we followed up a multinational cohort (EPI-CT) of 948,174 individuals who underwent CT examinations before age 22 years in nine European countries. Radiation doses to the active bone marrow were estimated on the basis of body part scanned, patient characteristics, time period and inferred CT technical parameters. We found an association between cumulative dose and risk of all hematological malignancies, with an excess relative risk of 1.96 (95% confidence interval 1.10 to 3.12) per 100 mGy (790 cases). Similar estimates were obtained for lymphoid and myeloid malignancies. Results suggest that for every 10,000 children examined today (mean dose 8 mGy), 1-2 persons are expected to develop a hematological malignancy attributable to radiation exposure in the subsequent 12 years. Our results strengthen the body of evidence of increased cancer risk at low radiation doses and highlight the need for continued justification of pediatric CT examinations and optimization of doses.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Comment in

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