A dual US and UK study has warned doctors performing CT scans on children to ensure that they are clinically justified after results showed a higher risk of them developing brain cancer or leukaemia later in life.
Funded by the Department of Health and the National Cancer Institute in the USA, the study found that the exposure to ionising radiation in the scan, when under the age of 15, triples these childrens’ risk of contracting possibly fatal diseases later on in life. The figures, which have been published in Lancet Online, relate to almost 180,000 patients under the age of 22 and are the first to point directly to a link between radiation from CT scans and the risk of cancer and to actually quantify that risk.
Mark Pearce, from the University of Newcastle, who was the lead researcher on the project, said that the immediate benefits of having a CT scan outweigh the long-term risks and therefore they should remain in use for the foreseeable future. However, he agreed that there should be reductions in CT doses as soon as possible to minimise the risks. The DoH said that decisions on whether to perform a CT scan on a child are done on a case-by-case basis and added that the UK already uses lower levels of radiation than many other countries.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/jun/07/ct-scans-study-brain-cancer-1