X-rays could boost breast cancer risks

X-rays may greatly raise the risk of breast cancer in women who are genetically susceptible to the disease, researchers have reported.

Their study of women with genetic mutations known to cause breast cancer showed that having a chest X-ray could double or even triple that risk. The findings don’t make clear which kind of chest X-rays pose the greater risk, said Dr. David Goldgar of the University of Utah School of Medicine, who helped lead the research.

The researchers looked only at women who have a certain version of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast cancer genes.

“The results from this study raise potentially significant clinical considerations,” the researchers wrote in a report, published online June 26 ahead of print in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.