Probability of induced cancers related to computed tomography examinations

Abstract

Computed tomography (CT) is considered as one of the most used radiation imaging modalities, and CT procedures are increasing continuously all over the world, hence leading to considerable rise in cancers and radiation related diseases risk. This study was conducted in three general hospitals in Saudi Arabia, to analyze the associated radiation cancer risk from CT procedures. The collected data included the head chest, abdomen, abdomen pelvis (AP) and chest abdomen pelvis (CAP) procedures along with exposure parameter data (DLP and scan length). The risk of cancer was estimated by multiplying the effective dose with the risk coefficients obtained from ICRP 103. The mean DLP values were higher for females (647.5 ± 323.37 mGy cm) compared to male patients (587.7 ± 338.36 mGy cm), with no statistically significant differences (p = 0.497). The overall effective doses were 1.7 ± 0.53, 3.89 ± 1.22, 6.6 ± 4.23, 5.76 ± 3.28 and 10.75 ± 5.48 mSv for the head, chest, abdomen, abdomen pelvis (AP), and chest abdomen pelvis (CAP) procedures, respectively. The risk of cancer per procedure from head, chest, abdomen, AP and CAP procedures were found to be 6.96 × 10−5, 1.59 × 10−4, 2.71 × 10−4, 2.36 × 10−4, and 4.41 × 10−4, respectively. The effective doses and therefore the probability of cancer values were found to be within the range of other studies in the literature. However, dose optimization is always required, for the purpose of minimize the dose and cancer risk. Moreover, there is a clear need to improve awareness among radiology workers of unessential risks from suboptimal techniques in addition to applying the new imaging protocols in accordance with excellent practice around the world.