Fetal risk in diagnostic radiology.

It is not uncommon to encounter situations in which radiologic examinations are necessary for accurate diagnosis and effective treatment of an expectant mother. The potential deleterious health consequences to the developing embryo and fetus from in utero irradiation include fetal death, congenital malformations, growth retardation, and carcinogenic and mutagenic effects. The likelihood of each effect is greatly dependent on the radiation dose and the gestational age of the conceptus at the time of exposure.

Breast cancer close to the nipple: does this increase the risk of nodal metastasis at diagnosis?

Background: Previous studies of patients with invasive breast cancer examined, with mixed results, tumour location as a predictor of axillary lymph node metastasis. This study assessed whether tumour location in relation to the nipple impacts the presence of axillary lymph node metastasis at the time of diagnosis.

Methods: A retrospective review was undertaken of the medical records and available imaging of 285 patients diagnosed with invasive breast cancer between January 2001 to June 2007 at Boston University Medical Center.