CT scans 'increase cancer risk'

Overexposure to CT scan radiations can increase cancer risk, according to a new study.

Dr. Rebecca Smith-Bindman, from the University of California in San Francisco, claims that these scans may cause 29,000 new cancers a year and 14,500 deaths.

Also, previous studies suggest that the average American's total radiation exposure has almost doubled since 1980, primarily because of CT scans.

"It is a little scary. Everything we do in medicine has risks and benefits," the New York Daily News quoted Smith-Bindman, the study author, as saying.

According to experts, a single scan may not be harmful but overexposure can increase the risk of cancer.

Smith-Bindman said: "It''s necessary to start keeping track of dosages for individual patients.

"You have to record the radiation and make it part of the patient record just like you would if a patient has an allergy to certain medicines.