5% of US Cancer Cases Linked to CT Scans, New Study Claims

CT scans are a powerful tool in modern medicine. They help doctors find everything from internal injuries to early-stage cancer.

But a new study from the U.S. has raised concerns about how often these scans are being used — and what that might mean for public health.

Steep Increase of Performed CT Scans

In 2023, doctors in the U.S. performed 93 million CT scans on about 62 million people. That’s a 30% increase over the past 15 years, according to Videnskab.

Researchers are now asking whether this jump is putting patients at risk. Their study, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, suggests that the risk of cancer from CT scans may be higher than previously thought.

Using a model that estimates how radiation affects the body, the researchers believe that as many as 103,000 Americans could develop cancer each year because of the radiation from CT scans.

That would mean CT scans might account for about 5% of all new cancer cases in the U.S.

Rebecca Smith-Bindman, the lead author and a professor at the University of California San Francisco, says CT scans can be lifesaving. But she also says that the possible harms are often ignored.

Study Is ‘Overreacting’ and Misleading

Lars Thorbjørn Jensen, a chief physician at Herlev Hospital, says the study may be overreacting.

He believes it leaves out important details. For example, it doesn’t look at how much radiation each patient received.

It also ignores how sick the patients were, or why they needed the scans in the first place.

He points out that many people who get repeated scans already have cancer. So the extra risk from radiation may not change much for them.

Jensen agrees that doctors must be careful. CT scans shouldn’t be used unless needed. But he warns against scaring people.

Most patients are seriously ill when they’re sent for a scan. The scan often helps find the cause and saves lives.