CT scans may increase the risk of cancer

A new study shows that radiation from CT scans can increase the risk of cancer, especially for children.

China Daily cited research done by professors from Columbia University and the US Department of Radiology, suggesting that about 2% of all cancers in the United States may stem from radiation scans.

According to doctors, this number may be even higher because cancer from radiation sometimes needs 10-20 years to track accurately. Scientists say the effects of a single shot on an individual are not much, but multiple shots can increase the risk of cancer.

The percentage of Americans exposed to this type of radiation has nearly doubled since 1980 to date, mainly due to CT scans. Research by this group of scientists in 2001 also showed that there are many ways to reduce these (Artwork: Chadwickmedical) such shots, especially for children. In the last year, about 62 million patients (including 4 million children) conducted tomography in the United States, greatly increased compared to 3 million in 1980.

So far, tomography has become quite popular because it is relatively cheap, painless and can quickly produce detailed holograms. The doctor currently uses CT scans to assess injuries, abdominal pain, chronic headache, kidney stones. For children they often use to check for appendicitis.

According to calculations, a chest scan has a radiological rate of 1,000 times that of conventional X-rays. Especially people with kidney stones often have a higher rate of CT scans than others, meaning there is a higher risk of radiation because these radiation often accumulate in humans.

Dr. Fred Mettler, in charge of X-rays at the New Mexico State Veterans Administration, said he had met 30-year-old people who had 18 scans.

THANH TUAN