Full-Body CT Scans May Boost Cancer Risk

Corbis
Full-body CT scans use X-rays to create a 3-D image of a person's torso. That requires about 100 times as much radiation as a mammogram.

Corbis
A CT Scan machine.
New research finds that even one "full-body" CT scan is likely to raise the risk that a person will die from cancer. But experts note the greatest increase in risk occurred in patients who underwent multiple scans -- which most people are unlikely to need. NPR's Jon Hamilton reports.
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