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Recently, multidetector computed tomography scanners have become the modality of choice for assessing coronary artery calcium (CAC). In this study, researchers estimated risk for developing cancer from CAC screening with CT scanners. Because no standardized CAC screening protocol exists, researchers reviewed protocols that were used in cardiac studies. Cancer risk was estimated primarily from data on Japanese atomic bomb survivors.
The effective radiation dose delivered from a single CAC screening study ranged from 0.8 to 10.5 millisieverts (mSv) across the different scanning protocols. For the median dose of 2.3 mSv, a single screening at age 55 would result in a lifetime excess cancer risk of 8 cases per 100,000 men (lung cancer would acco…