According to a newly published research, children exposed to multiple CT scans could be up to three times likelier to contract cancer of the blood, brain or bone marrow later in life.
In The Lancet medical journal, a team of scientists in Canada, Britain and the United States researchers claimed their study was the first to provide direct evidence of a link between exposure from CT radiation in childhood and later cancer risk. The cancer risk, in absolute terms, appears to be small. They appealed for radiation doses from CT scans to be kept at a minimum and for alternatives to be used where appropriate.
The researchers studied nearly 180,000 people who underwent a CT scan as children or young adults (under 22) in Britain between 1985 and 2002.
Put into context, this means that among every 10,000 patients who received one CT scan before the age of 10, there would be one extra case of leukaemia and one extra brain tumour per 10 mGy of radiation in the 10 years after exposure.
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