CT Scans in Children Linked to Cancer

Each year, roughly 1.6 million children in the United States get CT scans of the head and abdomen and about 1,500 of those will die later in life of radiation-induced cancer, researchers say. What's more, CT scans given to kids are typically calibrated for adults, so children absorb two to six times the radiation needed to produce clear images, a second study shows.

These radiation doses are "way bigger than the sorts of doses that people at Three Mile Island were getting," said David Brenner of Columbia University. "Most people got a tenth or a hundredth of the dose of a CT."

Two studies reported in the January issue American Journal of Roentgenology, the nation's leading radiology declare the warning. The first, by Brenner and colleagues, is the first study to estimate the risks of "radiation-induced fatal cancer" from pediatric CT scans. Until a decade ago, CT scans took too long to perform on children without giving them general anesthesia to keep them still. Today's CT scanners spiral around in seconds.

"There's a huge number of people who don't just receive one scan," Fred Mettler of the University of New Mexico, said noting that CT scans are used for diagnosis and to plan and evaluate treatment. The dose from a CT scan of the chest is equivalent to the radiation exposure of somewhere between 10 and 20 mammograms. “You'd want to think long and hard about giving your young daughter 10 to 20 mammograms unless she really needs it," exclaimed Dr. Mettler.

Mettler recently published a study showing that 11 percent of the CT scans at his center are done in children under 15, and they get 70 percent of the total radiation dose given to patients. Children have more rapidly dividing cells than adults , which are more susceptible to radiation damage. Children also will live long enough for cancers to develop.

Researchers led by Lane Donnelly at Cincinnati's Children's Hospital found that children often get radiation doses six times higher than necessary. Cutting the adult dose in half would yield a clear image and cut the risk a like amount, Brenner said. "Radiologists genuinely believe the risks are small," he says. "I suspect they've never been confronted with numbers like this."

Dr. Hansen’s Comments: Before your o.k. a CT Scan for your child or adult family member, confront the physician. Ask, “is this test necessary right now?” “Is there time for careful observation?” If symptoms increase or worsen, by all means use this medical tool to determine the diagnosis. However, please proceed with caution. Is it worth the risk of possibly inducing cancer? And if you decide to proceed, make certain that you give your child or adult family member a 10 day treatment of mutation preventing nutritional support: 100 mg of Ultra GSE 110 twice daily for children and 200 mg twice daily for adults.

For more information on Ultra GSE 110, click here