Loading...
High doses of ionizing radiation delivered by computed tomography (CT) scanners almost certainly raise lifetime cancer risk. Fifteen years ago, researchers estimated that as many as 2% of cancers diagnosed in the U.S. might be caused directly by CT scans (NEJM JW Gen Med Jan 1 2008 and N Engl J Med 2007; 357:2277). Now, a different research team has updated this assessment, using nationwide registries of CT use and ongoing cancer risk estimates from Japanese atomic bomb survivors and other radiation-exposed cohorts.
Among their findings are the following:
Use of CT scanning in the U.S. continues to rise, with an estimated 93 million scans performed in almost 62 million patients in 2023 (≈30 million more scans than in 2006).
These scans from 20…