Breast Cancer from CT Heart Scanners

July 2007

A new study has confirmed that 64-slice CT heart scanners present a high risk of cancer for women under the age of 40. The scanners are used as diagnostic tools – particularly in emergency rooms – to detect heart attacks and find clogged arteries in those suffering from chest pain.

One out of every 143 women scanned at age 20 will get the disease, most often in the form of breast cancer. Although the risk drops about 100% for women 40 and above, it still remains at dangerous levels.

Conversely, men scanned by the device have a much lower cancer risk. Results show men at the age of 80 only have a one in 3,261 risk of developing cancer. That means 20-year-old women who have been scanned are 23 times more likely to contract cancer than men scanned at age 80.