Cancer and Other Disease Risks in U.S. Nuclear Medicine Technologists

Background: The field of nuclear medicine has changed a lot in the past decades. Technology has gotten better, so patients are exposed to less radiation. But now workers are doing procedures more often and using lead aprons less. So they may be exposed to more radiation. This may put them at higher risk for cancers and other health problems that are related to radiation. Researchers want to collect data from technologists to learn more about the risks and appropriate doses of radiation. Objective: To learn more about the risks and appropriate doses of radiation for nuclear medicine technologists. Eligibility: Adults who were first certified in nuclear medicine technology in the United States after 1980. They must be living in the United States. They must not be participants in the USRT study. Design: Participants will be recruited online. Participants will complete an online survey. It will take about a half hour. This will have questions about their work with nuclear medicine procedures. There will be questions about the kinds of procedures and how often they do them. Participants will give a short work history. This will include the names of current and past employers. Participants will allow researchers to get records of their film badge dose readings. These will come from dosimetry providers. Dosimetry data will not be shared with participants. Researchers can t ensure the how accurate or complete the data are.

Sex

All

Minimum age

18 Years

Maximum age

100 Years

* ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:
* Technologists from the target population of approximately 25,000 individuals who were first certified in nuclear medicine technology in the U.S. after 1980, are currently alive and residing in the U.S., and are not participants of the USRT study.

• BACKGROUNDDrozdovitch V, Brill AB, Callahan RJ, Clanton JA, DePietro A, Goldsmith SJ, Greenspan BS, Gross MD, Hays MT, Moore SC, Ponto JA, Shreeve WW, Melo DR, Linet MS, Simon SL. Use of radiopharmaceuticals in diagnostic nuclear medicine in the United States: 1960-2010. Health Phys. 2015 May;108(5):520-37. doi: 10.1097/HP.0000000000000261. PMID 25811150
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• BACKGROUNDDrozdovitch V, Brill AB, Mettler FA Jr, Beckner WM, Goldsmith SJ, Gross MD, Hays MT, Kirchner PT, Langan JK, Reba RC, Smith GT, Bouville A, Linet MS, Melo DR, Lee C, Simon SL. Nuclear medicine practices in the 1950s through the mid-1970s and occupational radiation doses to technologists from diagnostic radioisotope procedures. Health Phys. 2014 Oct;107(4):300-10. doi: 10.1097/HP.0000000000000107. PMID 25162420