The Nation - News from Oct. 16, 1985

Girls X-rayed during diagnosis and treatment of scoliosis--sideways curvature of the spine that affects at least 120,000 young people--may be at increased risk for breast cancer later in life, two government researchers said. The scientists said simple shielding methods could be used to protect the girls’ breast tissue during scoliosis X-rays, which expose patients cumulatively to far more radiation than X-rays taken for other conditions. The technique was developed at the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Radiological Health.