Computed Tomography (CT) Scans and Cancer (Fact Sheet)

What is NCI doing to improve CT imaging?

Researchers funded by NCI are studying ways to improve the use of CT in cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment. NCI also conducts and sponsors clinical trials that are testing ways to improve CT or new uses of CT imaging technology. Some of these clinical trials are run by the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN), a clinical trials cooperative group that is funded in part by NCI. ACRIN performed the National CT Colonography Trial, which tested the use of CT for colorectal cancer screening, and participated in the NLST, which tested the use of CT for lung cancer screening in high-risk individuals.

NCI’s Cancer Imaging Program (CIP), part of the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD), funds cancer-related basic, translational, and clinical research in imaging sciences and technology. CIP supports the development of novel imaging agents for CT and other types of imaging procedures to help doctors better locate cancer cells in the body.

Where can people get more information about CT?

Additional information about CT imaging is available from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the federal agency that regulates food, drugs, medical devices, cosmetics, biologics, and radiation-emitting products. The FDA can be contacted at:

U.S. Food and Drug Administration
10903 New Hampshire Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20993
1–888–INFO–FDA (1–888–463–6332)
http://www.fda.gov  

Information about diagnostic radiology, including CT imaging, is also available at RadiologyInfo.orgExit Disclaimer, the public information website of the Radiological Society of North America and the American College of Radiology.

Selected References

1. American College of Radiology and Radiological Society of North America (April 2012). Patient Safety: Radiation Dose in X-Ray and CT Exams. Retrieved July 19, 2013.

2. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (August 2009). What are the Radiation Risks from CT? Retrieved July 19, 2013.

3. Howlader N, Noone AM, Krapcho M, et al. (eds). SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2010, National Cancer Institute. Bethesda, MD, 2013 (http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2010/).

4. Berrington de González A, Mahesh M, Kim K-P, et al. Projected cancer risks from computed tomographic scans performed in the United States in 2007. Archives of Internal Medicine 2009; 169(22):2071–2077. [PubMed Abstract]

5. Smith-Bindman R, Lipson J, Marcus R, et al. Radiation dose associated with common computed tomography examinations and the associated lifetime attributable risk of cancer. Archives of Internal Medicine 2009; 169(22):2078–2086.  [PubMed Abstract]

6. Committee to Assess Health Risks from Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing Radiation, National Research Council. Health Risks from Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing Radiation: BEIR VII—Phase 2. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2006.

7. Frush DP, Donnelly LF, Rosen NS. Computed tomography and radiation risks: what pediatric health care providers should know. Pediatrics 2003; 112(4):951–957. [PubMed Abstract]

8. Pearce MS, Salotti JA, Little MP, et al. Radiation exposure from CT scans in childhood and subsequent risk of leukaemia and brain tumours: a retrospective cohort study. Lancet 2012; 380(9840):499–505. [PubMed Abstract]

9. Mathews JD, Forsythe AV, Brady Z, et al. Cancer risk in 680 000 people exposed to computed tomography scans in childhood or adolescence: data linkage study of 11 million Australians. British Medical Journal 2013 May 21; 346:f2360. doi:10.1136/bmj.f2360

10. Neumann RD, Bluemke DA. Tracking radiation exposure from diagnostic imaging devices at the NIH.Journal of the American College of Radiology 2010; 7(2):87–89. [PubMed Abstract]

Source: National Cancer Institute.