CT scans triple risk of cancer to children

EXPOSING a child to the nuclear radiation from two or three CT head scans can triple its risk of developing brain cancer later in life, according to a study.

The research, conducted over a period of 20 years, also found that a child exposed to the cumulative radiation of between five and 10 CT scans is three times more likely than an unexposed child to develop leukaemia.

While the absolute risk of cancers developing after a CT scan is still small, the researchers said radiation doses should be kept as low as possible and alternatives to ionising radiation should be used whenever possible.

"It's well known that radiation can cause cancer but there is an ongoing scientific debate about whether relatively low doses of radiation do increase cancer risks, and if so the magnitude of those risks," said Amy Berrington de Gonzalez of the US National Cancer Institute, who worked on the study.

"Ours is the first study to provide direct evidence of a link... and we were also able to quantify that risk."

CT imaging is a diagnostic technique often used on children with possible head injuries.

- Kate Kelland in London

Irish Independent

meteor shower tonight annie oakley edc paranormal activity 4 love and hip hop 2012 nfl mock draft iowa caucus