Cancer Risk From CT Scans Lower Than Previously Thought

Cancer Risk From CT Scans Lower Than Previously Thought.
The chance of developing cancer as a effect of radiation exposure from CT scans may be disgrace than previously thought, new research suggests. That finding, scheduled to be presented Wednesday at the annual junction of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago, is based on an eight-year division of Medicare records covering nearly 11 million patients. "What we found is that overall between two and four out of every 10000 patients who sustain a CT scan are at risk for developing secondary cancers as a result of that emanation exposure," said Aabed Meer, an MD candidate in the department of radiology at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif as example. "And that risk, I would say, is crop than we expected it to be".

As a result, patients who trouble a CT scan should not be fearful of the consequences, Meer stated. "If you have a apoplexy and need a CT scan of the head, the benefits of that scan at that moment outweigh the very slight possibility of developing a cancer as a result of the scan itself. CT scans do amazing things in terms of diagnosis. Yes, there is some emission risk read this. But that small risk should always be put in context".

The authors set out to quantify that hazard by sifting through the medical records of elderly patients covered by Medicare between 1998 and 2005. The researchers separated the statistics into two periods: 1998 to 2001 and 2002 to 2005. In the earlier period, 42 percent of the patients had undergone CT scans. For the interval 2002 to 2005, that plate rose to 49 percent, which was not surprising given the increasing use of scans in US medical care.

Within each group, the check in team reviewed the number and specimen of CT scans administered to see how many patients received low-dose radiation (50 to 100 millisieverts) and how many got high-dose dispersal (more than 100 millisieverts). They then estimated how many cancers were induced using principle cancer risk models.