A new study has found that Computed Tomography Scans commonly referred to as CT Scans might increase the risk of cancer among young women. CT Scans are used to widely detect weak heart conditions.
The Scans are often used to diagnose blockages in arteries among millions of chest pain patients. Thus the findings of the study have important implications.
The scan looks for coronary artery disease by building up a 3D picture of the heart. The doctors have said that the cancer risk from such a scan for women in their twenties seems to be much higher than that for other groups.
The researchers focused on 64-slice CT scanners which were approved way back in 2004. They found that they deliver more radiation than earlier models.
According to researcher Andrew Einstein of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, “The magnitude of this risk is something we hadn’t appreciated. If you look at older women the risk is very small. But for a woman younger than 40 or 50, I’m going to be hesitant to use it.”
The study found that one of every 143 women who are scanned once at age 20 will get cancer usually of the breast.
The researchers reported in the journal of American Association that is 23 times the one in 3261 cancer risk for 80-year old men.