Long-term exposure to low-dose radiation can cause DNA damage to lymphocyte cells in interventional radiologists -- but significantly, these doctors don't seem to be vulnerable to an increased risk of leukemia, researchers in Slovakia have reported.
A group at the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava investigated DNA damage in peripheral blood lymphocytes of interventional radiologists and found a significantly increased number of chromosomal aberrations compared to controls.
"Our results showed an increased frequency of micronuclei and various types of chromosomal aberrations," wrote radiobiologists Dominika Kochanova and Sachin Gulati, PhD, lead authors of a study published on 19 September in Scientific Reports.
The origin of leukemia is often associated with the development of preleukemic fusion genes (PFGs), which trigger leukemogenesis, the process by which healthy white blood cells become cancerous, the researchers explained. These PFGs can form due to DNA double-strand breaks caused by radiation.
Using advanced genetic imaging techniques, the researchers analyzed blood samples from 12 interventional radiologists working in six various hospitals in Slovakia and 14 controls who worked in other hospital departments without radiation exposure.
According to the findings, they observed no significant difference in the incidence of PFG in interventional radiologists. They also found no significant associations between years of practice and any of the studied biomarkers.
However, they did find a comparatively increased frequency of micronuclei in the radiologists, which are fragments of DNA produced when ionizing radiation breaks DNA strands.
"We conclude that long-term exposure to low doses of [ionizing radiation] can induce formation of micronuclei in the PBL of interventional radiologists," the group wrote.
Ultimately, whether the increased presence of micronuclei due to DNA damage translates to higher health risks in interventional radiologists will require further research, the authors noted. However, they noted that such damage from low-dose radiation in other radiology workers has been associated with malignancies in previous research.
"In the future, the hospitals should continue to raise awareness of radiation protection principles, introduction of more frequent preventive examinations or stricter exposure limits among medicine workers exposed to radiation," the group concluded.
The full study can be found here.
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![Examples of ultrasound findings and techniques. (A) Images in a 39-year-old male patient with a mass in the left thigh. The mass is heterogeneous on the B-mode US image (compared with the patient in D) and showed increased microvascularity (superb microvascular imaging [SMI]) and shear-wave elastography (SWE) values. Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy (with pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in surgical specimen). (B) Images in an 18-year-old male patient with a mass in the left leg. The mass is hypoechoic on the B-mode image, with no other findings suggestive of malignancy. The lesion is in contact with the cortex of the tibia, which is slightly irregular. CT revealed a doubtful anteromedial tibial erosion. The microvascular study demonstrated high vascularization, suggestive of malignancy. Periosteal Ewing sarcoma was diagnosed with both histologic and immunohistochemical confirmation. (C) Images in a 69-year-old female patient with a lump growing on the outside of the left leg. Multiple SWE examinations were performed (please note the high values obtained in the measurements, whereas the color map highlights the stiffness relative to adjacent tissues). SMI showed areas of increased vascularization to target for sampling. Undifferentiated spindle cell sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with residual leiomyosarcoma in the surgical specimen after neoadjuvant therapy. (D) Images in a 56-year-old female patient with a mass in the right thigh. The mass is heterogeneous at both B-mode ultrasound (similar to patient A) and MRI (coronal T2-weighted spectral attenuated inversion recovery [SPAIR]; T1-weighted pre-contrast and postcontrast imaging), which even shows uptake after the administration of paramagnetic contrast material, which is traditionally suggestive of malignancy. Low values at SMI and elastography are suggestive of benignity. Spindle cell lipoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with atypical spindle cell lipomatous tumor in the surgical specimen.](https://img.auntminnieeurope.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/08/images-radiol250278fig2.APCFLSvX6p.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
