CT scans ‘increase cancer risk’

Overexposure to CT scan radiations can increase cancer risk, according to a new study.

Dr. Rebecca Smith-Bindman, from the University of California in San Francisco, claims that these scans may cause 29,000 new cancers a year and 14,500 deaths.

Also, previous studies suggest that the average American’’s total radiation exposure has almost doubled since 1980, primarily because of CT scans.

“It is a little scary. Everything we do in medicine has risks and benefits,” the New York Daily News quoted Smith-Bindman, the study author, as saying.

According to experts, a single scan may not be harmful but overexposure can increase the risk of cancer.

Smith-Bindman said: “It’’s necessary to start keeping track of dosages for individual patients.

“You have to record the radiation and make it part of the patient record just like you would if a patient has an allergy to certain medicines.

“If a patient has had 10 CTs that year, that is an important piece of information for the person taking care of you.”

However, Smith-Bindman believes that CT scans can be made safer, as up to one-third of these scans aren”t medically necessary, since even three-dimensional pictures can also diagnose cancers, aneurysms and blood clots.

She concluded: “Just like we can make the driving experience safer – not to text or talk on the phone – we can make these scans a lot safer and we should. We have the technology and science to do that. Life is risky – so why not do everything possible to make it safer?”