Lung Cancer Screenings With CT Scan May Carry Hidden Risks
According to the researchers at the ASCO (American Society for Clinical Oncology), lung cancer screenings that are used these days may lead to serious health hazards and may have certain hidden risks attached with them.
The NIH (National Institutes of Health) is currently carrying out a large scale study on whether screening patients with CT scans can really save lives. Many doctors have already started using this technique hoping that it will enable them to detect tumors at an early stage and thus help them to cure the tumors. However according to leading author Jennifer Croswell, these scans are not always reliable as many a times the results of such screening are difficult to interpret and understand. Croswell added that there was a 21% probability that these results would cause unnecessary frighten and suspicion among patients.
Croswell continued that doubtful results can often lead to thorough follow-up examinations and checkups, like biopsies and even surgeries in some cases in which the doctors operate patient’s chest in order to examine the lungs.
According to the research conducted among the1600 smokers and ex-smokers who underwent CT scan, 40 individuals developed real cancer, while 8 of them underwent surgery despite having non cancerous conditions.
Croswell is still not convinced with the fact that these screenings actually aided anyone because the study haven’t gone long enough to prove that these screenings actually save lives.
According to Peter Bach who is a pulmonologist working at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Clinic in New York, CT scans also exposes people to various radiations, which can increase the chance of developing cancer. Mr. Bach states that people who undergo CT scans are 100 times more susceptible in getting a false alarm or threat. He added that the ACS (American Cancer Society) does not recommend lung screenings as they are not included in the insurance policies.