High-tech scans increasingly used in cancer patients; raising concerns over costs, radiation
By Lindsey Tanner, APTuesday, April 27, 2010
Use of costly scans is climbing in cancer patients
CHICAGO — The use of high-tech imaging scans in older cancer patients has climbed substantially in recent years. That’s according to a study that raises concerns about costs and radiation exposure.
For example, lung cancer patients diagnosed in 2006 had on average almost six CT scans in the next two years, versus four scans for those diagnosed in 1999.
Whether these tests are being overused in cancer patients is uncertain. A Duke University researcher who led the study says money might be a factor because Medicare reimburses doctors more for interpreting these scans than for less complex tests.
The study appears in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
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