Radiation From CT Scans Could Lead to Thousands of Future Cancer Diagnoses, Study Finds

Approximately 93 million computed tomography examinations, or CT scans, are performed on 62 million patients annually in the United States — but the radiation from that process can raise the risk of future cancers. Now a new study is projecting just how many cases of cancer could be linked to CT scans.

In the study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine on Monday, researchers estimate that over the lifetime of those millions of patients, about 103,000 radiation-induced cancers are projected to result from CT exams done in 2023.

“If current practices persist, CT-associated cancer could eventually account for 5% of all new cancer diagnoses annually,” the authors wrote.

The risk is estimated to be higher for children or adolescents, although adults are more likely to get CT scans and account for a higher number of projected cancer cases in the study, the researchers said.