The carcinogenic effect of small doses of radiation such as those used for diagnostic purpose is difficult to assess. In practice, it can be evaluated with retrospective studies on large groups of population. In addition to the hazard arising from the use of substances which are themselves carcinogenic (thorotrast) and from methodological errors, the carcinogenic risk due to irradiation in adults can be evaluated in the order of 20 leukemias and 20 cancers in 10–20 years in 1 milion people for each rad of exposure. On the contrary, the irradiation of the fetus for diagnostic purposes leads to approximately a 40 % increase of the oncogenic risk. Radioprotective measures and the restriction of radiological examinations within the limits of well defined clinical indications reduce the risk.
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