Radiation from mammography: Diagnostic or cancer induction?

Establishing the biological effects and the safe level of exposure to ionizing radiation remains, so far, an objective to be reached. Mammography is an important exam in the early detection of breast tumors, but since the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 were identified as a main cause of hereditary breast cancer, there is growing concern of exposing patients carrying those mutations to ionizing radiation. It could increase mutations in these genes and other suppressors, and promote the development of tumor in those patients. In this study we propose an in vitro initial experiment aiming to determine the radiation trigger level for detectable mutations in genes BRCA, and thus a safer level of radiation due to mammography for patients carrying a mutated allele of the genes BRCA1 or BRCA2. Breast cells from one patient were cultivated and irradiated with different doses of X-rays generated by commercial mammography equipment. The results have shown that exposition to ionizing radiation promotes measurable alterations in breast cell grown.