Computerised tomography (CT) scans could cause DNA damage and cell death in patients as well as expose patients to over 150 times more radiation than that of a chest X-ray, say researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine in a study published in Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

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Dr. Joseph Wu, senior author of the study and director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, said in a Stanford news release, "The use of medical imaging for heart disease has exploded in the past decade." He also added that "These tests expose patients to a non-trivial amount of low-dose radiation, but nobody really knows exactly what this low-dose radiation does to the patient. We now have the technology that allows us to look at very subtle, cell-level changes," according to CBS News.

The researchers studied the blood samples of 67 people before and after CT scan. The investigators observed that DNA damage and cell death were increased in the patient's body after the scan. Increased expression of genes involved in cell death as well as repair process was observed in the study. Though most cells damaged by the CT scan recovered, a small amount of them were observed to die.

Parts of the human body such as bones, organs, blood vessels and tumours are viewed in great detail with the help of 3D X-ray imaging of CT scans. The radiation doses of CT scans are 150 times higher than that of a regular chest X-ray causing a possible threat of cancer. Though there are not many evidences indicating cancer risk caused by CT scans, one study involving 10 million Australians has reported that there is 24 percent increased risk of cancer when patients had CT scan, according to Irish Examiner.

Nguyen said, "These findings raise the possibility that radiation exposure from cardiac CT angiography may cause DNA damage that can lead to mutations if damaged cells are not repaired or eliminated properly" She also added that "Cumulative cell death after repeated exposures may also be problematic." Nguyen went on to say, "Our research supports the idea that maybe physicians shouldn't just use the best image quality in all cases," according to Express. 

TagsCT Scans, Computerised tomography scan, Cancer, DNA damage, Cell death