EPI-CT: design, challenges and epidemiological methods of an international study on cancer risk after paediatric and young adult CT
Computed tomography (CT) has great clinical utility and its usage has increased dramatically over the years. Concerns have been raised, however, about health impacts of ionising radiation exposure from CTs, particularly in children, who have a higher risk for some radiation induced diseases. Direct estimation of the health impact of these exposures is needed, but the conduct of epidemiological studies of paediatric CT populations poses a number of challenges which, if not addressed, could invalidate the results. The aim of the present paper is to review the main challenges of a study on the health impact of paediatric CTs and how the protocol of the European collaborative study EPI-CT, coor…
Cohort Profile: the EPI-CT study: a European pooled epidemiological study to quantify the risk of radiation-induced cancer from paediatric CT
International audience; •The multinational EPI-CT study was set-up in 2011 to provide direct estimates of risk of solid tumours and leukaemia among children and young adults who underwent computed tomography (CT) scanning and to consolidate the scientific basis for optimization of paediatric CT protocols and patient protection.•Under a common protocol, cohort studies were conducted in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). •The study recruited a total of about 950,000 patients having undergone at least one CT-scan before the age of 22 years. A total of 8.7 millio…