ArticleJournal of the National Cancer Institute2019
Radiation Exposure From Pediatric CT Scans and Subsequent Cancer Risk in the Netherlands.
Article in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 162 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
162 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Radiation safety and cancer risks in pediatric computed tomography: a systematic review of large-scale cohort studies.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Risk factors for childhood brain tumours: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies from 1976 to 2022.Cancer epidemiology · 2024Pooled it
- Cancer Effects of Low to Moderate Doses of Ionizing Radiation in Young People with Cancer-Predisposing Conditions: A Systematic Review.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2022Pooled it
- Ionizing radiation exposure during adulthood and risk of developing central nervous system tumors: systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2022Pooled it
- Fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) computed tomography (CT) for the detection of bone, lung, and lymph node metastases in rhabdomyosarcoma.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Early life ionizing radiation exposure and cancer risks: systematic review and meta-analysis.Pediatric radiology · 2021Pooled it
- Evaluation of Confounding and Selection Bias in Epidemiological Studies of Populations Exposed to Low-Dose, High-Energy Photon Radiation.Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Monographs · 2020Pooled it
- Elective one-minute full brain multi-contrast MRI versus brain CT in pediatric patients: a prospective feasibility study.BMC medical imaging · 2024Trial
- Development, validation, and pilot MRI safety study of a high-resolution, open source, whole body pediatric numerical simulation model.PloS one · 2021Trial
- Evaluation of Pediatric Patients with Blunt Abdominal Trauma: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Practice Management Recommendations.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2026Article
- Patient Shielding in Computed Tomography: Analysis of Influencing Factors and a Conceptual Framework for Decision-Making.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Article
- The necessity of CT/CTA scans on pediatric cerebrovascular injury after blunt trauma - a single center study.BMC emergency medicine · 2026Observational
- Pediatric Trauma in the Emergency Department: Clinical Risk Stratification, CT Utilization and Radiation Burden in a Tertiary Care Cohort.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Clinical Impact of Ultrafast Cranial MRI Implementation in Children Under Six Years of Age.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Radiation dose of computed tomography in pediatric head trauma imaging.Neuroradiology · 2026Article
- Scanner-integrated reconstruction versus post-processing deep learning for low-countEJNMMI physics · 2026Article
- The necessity of CT scans on pediatric carotid injury after blunt trauma - An analysis of the traumaregister DGUEuropean journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2026Article
- Dynamic pressure mapping of infant cervical spines using a wearable magnetoelastic patch.Matter · 2026Article
102 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Erratum issuedCorrigendum.2018
Authors and funding
15 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundComputed tomography (CT), a strong diagnostic tool, delivers higher radiation doses than most imaging modalities. As CT use has increased rapidly, radiation protection is important, particularly among children. We evaluate leukemia and brain tumor risk following exposure to low-dose ionizing radiation from CT scans in childhood.
methodsFor a nationwide retrospective cohort of 168 394 children who received one or more CT scans in a Dutch hospital between 1979 and 2012 who were younger than age 18 years, we obtained cancer incidence, vital status, and confounder information by record linkage with external registries. Standardized incidence ratios were calculated using cancer incidence rates from the general Dutch population. Excess relative risks (ERRs) per 100 mGy organ dose were calculated with Poisson regression. All statistical tests were two-sided.
resultsStandardized incidence ratios were elevated for all cancer sites. Mean cumulative bone marrow doses were 9.5 mGy at the end of follow-up, and leukemia risk (excluding myelodysplastic syndrome) was not associated with cumulative bone marrow dose (44 cases). Cumulative brain dose was on average 38.5 mGy and was statistically significantly associated with risk for malignant and nonmalignant brain tumors combined (ERR/100 mGy: 0.86, 95% confidence interval = 0.20 to 2.22, P = .002, 84 cases). Excluding tuberous sclerosis complex patients did not substantially change the risk.
conclusionsWe found evidence that CT-related radiation exposure increases brain tumor risk. No association was observed for leukemia. Compared with the general population, incidence of brain tumors was higher in the cohort of children with CT scans, requiring cautious interpretation of the findings.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.