The American College of Radiology has challenged the validity of two studies published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine that link the overuse of CT scans with thousands of new cancer diagnoses and deaths. At the same time, ACR acknowledged that widespread CT scan use has resulted in increased radiation exposure for Americans, and called for greater oversight and vigilance to prevent needless overuse.

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According to the Medicare watchdog, GPs are misusing the CT scans by ordering CT scans for patients with uncomplicated back pain. CT, computed tomography, scans subject patients to 400 times more radiation than ordinary X-rays, and doctors appear to be referring patients for CT chest scans without good cause. Unnecessary chest CT scans alone could be responsible for 40 fatal cancers a year in Australia, the experts have estimated.

A team of researchers from the US National Cancer Institute and Columbia University found that the average range of radiation exposure from getting a coronary calcium scan after every five years would cause 42% additional cases of cancer among 100,000 men and 62 additional cases among 100,000 women. The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends against using CT scans in screening programs, and the American Heart Association says they should be used for “selected individuals” at intermediate risk.