Uncertainty and balance
“Estimates, while the best models available to the authors, are indirectly, so there is a lot of uncertainty about the estimates,” said Stephen Duffy, a Cancer screening professor at Queen Mary’s University in London. “That way, I would tell patients that if you are recommended to scan CT, it would be wise to do so.”
Duffy also highlighted that in the context of a person’s overall risk of cancer, CT scans do not move much. There were more than 100,000 cancers associated with 93 million scans. “The amount of cancer is equal to a 0.1 percent increase in the patient’s lifetime per CT exam,” he said. Cancer is a lifetime risk in the US population Approximately 40 %. Thus, the additional risk of CT scans is “smaller.” Overall, when the CT scan is considered necessary, “diagnosis after the disease and the resulting treatment increases the risk of potential cancer.”
Doren Lao, a cancerous biologist at the University of London, agreed: “These results do not mean that when recommended by a doctor, people should avoid CT scans.
Nevertheless, the increase in CT scans in recent years can suggest that doctors can eliminate their use. I One -along editorialAlana Richman of Yale University and Mitchell Dutts from NYC Health and Hospitals discussed the methods that doctors can balance the risks and benefits before using CT scans, including the use of diagnostic algorithms and offering alternative imaging options, such as ultrasound and magnets.
“Like all complex problems, there will be no easy solution,” he writes. But, “To educate therapists about avoiding low -cost testing and, in situations where alternatives are readily available, adding patients to CT scan can help change the culture and exercise.”