Tag Archives: meningioma

Dental x-ray dangers

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DENTAL X-rays given to millions of Britons every year could dramatically increase the risk of brain tumours, scientists have warned.

A major study has found that dental patients who received frequent X-rays were up to five times more likely to be diagnosed with meningioma, the most common type of brain tumour.

It was radiation transmitted during those examinations that was responsible for the increased risk, the study found.

To investigate the link, researchers from Yale University surveyed 1,433 brain tumour patients between the ages of 20 and 70, comparing them with a similar group of healthy people.

They found that over a lifetime, brain tumour patients were twice as likely to have had a bitewing dental examination, in which X-ray film is held in place by a tab between the teeth.

Individuals who had undergone the procedure more than once a year were nearly twice as likely to develop a brain tumour than those who had none, they found.

An increased risk of meningioma was also linked to whole-mouth panoramic examinations – which are taken externally.

Dental X-Ray

Dental X-Ray

Patients who were given dental X-rays below the age of 10 were nearly five times as likely to develop a brain tumour, the researchers found.

The study was published in Cancer, the journal of the American Cancer Society.


Dr Elizabeth Claus, of Yale’s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, who led the research, said: “Our findings indicate a statistically significant increased risk with both bitewing and panoramic films.”

But British dentists pointed out that American patients have far more X-ray examinations than in the UK and that today’s patients are exposed to lower doses of radiation than in the past.

Martin Fallowfield, a spokesman for the British Dental Association, pointed out that patients were exposed to more radiation on a flight to Spain.

He added: “X-rays are a vital tool in dentistry and reveal problems in the teeth and surrounding bone that simply cannot be observed by the naked eye, and often before patients experience any pain or discomfort. The earlier dental problems are identified, the easier they are to treat.”

Hypertension linked to brain tumours

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People with high blood pressure may be at increased risk of developing brain tumours, according to a new study.

The overall risk doubles for people with the highest blood pressure levels, compared to those with the lowest.

But it increases up to fourfold for some people diagnosed with meningioma who had high blood pressure, claim researchers from Austria, Norway and Sweden.

The scientists took the blood pressure measurements of 580,000 people and then waited to see if they went on to develop a benign or malignant brain tumour over the next ten years.

Around one-third of those taking part were diagnosed with hypertension, the medical name for high blood pressure.

A total of 1,312 people were diagnosed with a brain tumour during the follow-up period, including one-third with high-grade tumours which are more likely to spread.

The findings show that the 20 per cent of participants with the highest blood pressure readings were twice as likely to be diagnosed with meningioma or malignant glioma, types of brain tumour accounting for most cases.

The extra risk was compared to the risk affecting 20 per cent with the lowest readings.

For people with meningioma, which are tumours of the protective membrane around the brain, the risk was as high as fourfold.

The study was published in the Journal of Hypertension, and the researchers were funded by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF).

Blood pressure medication

Blood pressure medication

About 9,000 cases of brain tumours are diagnosed in Britain each year, but scientists warn that little is known about the causes.

Lead researcher Michael Edlinger, epidemiologist at the Medical Statistics Department in Innsbruck in Austria said: ‘These results are interesting because the large number of people in this study and the fact that more than 1,000 of them developed brain tumours mean it is unlikely that the findings are down to chance.

‘But this does not mean we can be confident that it is the high blood pressure that has caused the increase in brain tumour risk, as there are some limitations to our study.

‘For example, we did not have data on whether the participants were using any medication, such as treatment for high blood pressure, which could have affected the results.

‘And just like with the more speculative claims of mobile phone risks, we do not exactly know how such risks could work to cause the occurrence of these tumours.


‘This is why more research is needed into whether high blood pressure increases risk of brain tumour.’

Dr Rachel Thompson, Deputy Head of Science for WCRF, said: ‘Because this is a single study, the jury is still out on whether the high blood pressure is what caused the increased brain tumour risk among the people in this study or whether there is another unexplained reason for it.

‘We would want to see this finding repeated by other studies before we could be confident that blood pressure really is a risk factor for brain tumours.

‘But regardless of whether the findings of this study are confirmed or disproved by further research, there are very good reasons why having high blood pressure is a bad thing.

‘While the possible link between blood pressure and cancer needs more research, it is already well-established that having high blood pressure increases risk of strokes and heart disease.

‘There is strong evidence that having too much salt in your diet and being overweight, which both increase risk of high blood pressure, also increase the risk of cancer.’