Health
Cancer risk from full-body scans?
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Sept. 20, 2004
There is a modest, but not negligible, risk of cancer from a single, full-body CT scan, said a study in the September issue of Radiology, and the risk rises considerably if a person has elective annual scans over a number of years.
"The radiation dose from a full-body CT scan is comparable to the doses received by some of the atomic-bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where there is clear evidence of increased cancer risk," said David J. Brenner, PhD, DSc, lead author of the study and professor of radiation oncology and public health at Columbia University in New York City.
The study found that a 45-year-old who underwent one full-body CT screening would have an estimated lifetime cancer mortality risk of approximately 0.08%, which would produce cancer in one in 1,200 people. But a 45-year-old who has annual full-body CT scans for 30 years would accrue an estimated lifetime cancer mortality risk of about 1.9% or almost one in 50 people.
The report considered risk only for asymptomatic adults who elect to undergo high-tech checkups. "The risk-benefit equation changes dramatically for adults who are referred for CT exams for medical diagnosis. Diagnostic benefits far outweigh the risks," Dr. Brenner said.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/09/20/hlbf0920.htm.
