Skin Cancer after X-Ray Treatment for Scalp Ringworm

Abstract Shore, R. E., Moseson, M., Xue, X., Tse, Y., Harley, N. and Pasternack, B. S. Skin Cancer after X-Ray Treatment for Scalp Ringworm. Radiat. Res. 157, 410–418 (2002). Some 2,224 children given X-ray therapy for tinea capitis (ringworm of the scalp) have been followed for up to 50 years to determine cancer incidence, along with a control group of 1,380 tinea capitis patients given only topical medications. The study found a relative risk (RR) of 3.6 (95% confidence interval, 2.3–5.9) for basal cell skin cancer (BCC) of the head and neck among irradiated Caucasians (124 irradiated cases and 21 control cases), in response to a scalp dose of about 4.8 Gy. No melanomas of the head and neck have been seen, and only a few squamous cell carcinomas. About 40% of irradiated cases have had multiple BCCs, for a total of 328 BCCs. Although 25% of both the irradiated and control groups are African-American, only 3 skin cancers have been seen among them, all in the irradiated group, indicating the importance of ...