A recent article published in JAMA has been receiving national media attention and may generate questions and concern from patients about the radiation risks of CT scans.
The paper cites no new data and applies an overly simplified statistical analysis, extrapolating data from high-radiation exposures to populations of atomic bomb survivors at Hiroshima and Nagasaki to very low doses used in CT scanning. The article both fails to consider the immediate, clear benefits CT scans have delivered to millions of patients, and the fact that there has never been a case of cancer that has been shown to be directly caused by a CT scan. In fact, focused efforts in our profession have reduced CT radiation exposures dramatically in the last 20 years.
Radiologists and all members of the healthcare team continue to use CT scans for great benefit to our patients, considering the risk and benefit for each patient and situation.
The ACR and AAPM have both issued press releases regarding this study as well:
We encourage you to consult with your medical physicist and to reassure your patients that our primary concern is to protect and preserve their health. Let them know you will use CT scans when the benefit they provide far outweighs the miniscule theoretical risk of cancer induction decades later.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.
Sincerely,
Daniel J. Long, PhD, DABR
Chair, NYSRS Physics Committee