Cancer risks from head radiography procedures

The goal of this study is to evaluate the risk of cancer induction in head radiography procedures with a view to promote dose optimization and enhance patient safety. Thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD 100) was used to determine the entrance surface dose (ESD) of 20 patients presented for head radiography in two tertiary healthcare institutions in Southwest Nigeria. The corresponding effective dose and doses to the brain, oral mucosa and salivary gland were evaluated using PCXMC software. Incidence cancer risks were evaluated using BEIR VII model. The total entrance surface dose (ESDT) for mandible, paranasal sinuses and skull radiography ranged between 3.01-19.12 mGy with a mean of 7.52 mGy. The resulting effective dose, brain dose, oral mucosa dose and salivary gland dose has a mean of 0.25 mGy, 2.84 mGy, 3.06 mGy, and 4.97 mGy respectively. The least incidence of cancer risk obtained in this study is 1: 7000. Failure in the adoption of complete optimization technique was responsible for the increased risk. Periodic dose audit and enforcement of radiation protection policy will help to checkmate the lapses and alleviate patient risk.