CT AND CANCER
ANCHOR LEAD: DO CT EXAMS CAUSE CANCER? ELIZABETH TRACEY REPORTS
CT scans cause cancer. That’s the short version of a recently reported study looking at radiation exposure related to CT and subsequent cancer risk. Eliot Fishman, a CT expert at Johns Hopkins, says a closer look at the study helps dispel fears.
FISHMAN: They made a statement that said that 2% of all cancers are caused by CT. There’s no data. There’s never been a reported patient who’s gotten cancer from getting a CT scan. They created all sorts of extrapolations, that if you did X, Y and Z what happened under the worst of circumstances theoretically something could happen, but nothing has ever happened to a patient. No patient has ever gotten cancer from a CT scan. So there was significant issues with that, it was very misleading and worried a lot of people. :27
Fishman is concerned that patients who hear about the study may decline CT scans based on the belief that cancer may result, and leave a much more imminent threat undiagnosed. He says patients should become informed in order to make the best decisions. I’m Elizabeth Tracey reporting.
