The financial costs of treating CT-induced cancer

Computed tomography (CT) is a powerful diagnostic tool that allows rapid diagnosis of disease.  CT is widely available in the U.S. and is a mainstay of medical diagnosis.  Estimates state that 85 million CT scans were performed in the U.S. in 2012.  To create images, CT scanners pass ionizing radiation (x-rays) through the body thereby exposing patients to radiation.  Patients who are imaged with CT have a theoretical but widely accepted risk of developing cancer years to decades following radiation exposure. In contrast, MRI and ultrasound create images without x-rays and have no risk of inducing cancer.  MRI particularly provides equivalent or superior diagnostic ability compared to CT in many clinical scenarios.  Substituting these non-radiation imaging techniques for CT will result in less radiation-induced cancers, especially for children and young adults. While avoiding cancer is important to patients, circumventing the expense of treating these cancers is also beneficial to society.  The financial costs of treating CT-induced cancer have not been determined.  The purpose of this article is to estimate and discuss these costs. Calculating the costs: First, we must select an estimate for the rate of cancer induction from CT.  Scientific committees like the National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR) have published sophisticated estimates of these risks.  The most recent BEIR risk estimates (BEIR VII) are like...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Conditions Radiology Source Type: blogs