Researchers: Radiation from imaging procedures presents ‘no risk’ to patients
There is no proof that radiation from medical imaging causes cancer, and the persistence of any perceived dangers is based on unproven and outdated information, according to the authors of a recently released study published online in the American Journal of Clinical Oncology.
“The very scientists whose experimental work gave rise to this false claim in the 1940s—Hermann Muller and Curt Stern and their colleagues—in fact demonstrated the exact opposite,” the authors said in an interview posted to MedicalResearch.com, “namely that below certain threshold radiation doses there were no harmful effects at all and possible beneficial effects.”
The study examined the origins and credibility of the linear no-threshold (LNT) model, a foundational element of modern concerns regarding medical radiation exposure, and found that LNT risk estimates for cancer resulting from any exposure to ionizing radiation—all the way down to zero dose—were theoretical and never proven by empirical evidence.
“What matters is the dose, not the mere presence of radiation, just as dose is the key factor for any agent, including oxygen, sunlight, water, and vitamins,” the authors said. “Each of these, like radiation, is toxic in too high a dose, but necessary for health in moderate doses.”
Read the full interview by clicking the link below:
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