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Because it also uses x-ray technology, CT is not a risk free procedure either. However, radiation risks remain very low and must be weighed against the benefits brought by the examination. “Disadvantages are minor compared to the lives saved by the technology. Most radiological tests used for early detection of disease have no or minimal side effects that are greatly outweighed by the benefits.” Some examinations, like mammography, may also cause discomfort to patients, because they will have a device pressed firmly against their bodies. The use of contrast products, media swallowed or injected into the body to enhance the contrast of an image, may also cause allergies and kidney dysfunction in sensitive patients. On the other hand, ultrasound examinations used in ovarian cancer screening, for example, have no side effects at all. As for multide-tector CT colonography, it causes much less discomfort than conventional colonoscopy in screening for colon cancer, and can be carried out much more rapidly. Finally, one should not underestimate the risk of false positive diagnosis and the series of costly examinations it can trigger. A false positive result indicates that a person has a given condition when they do not. For instance, a cancer test might return positive when the person is actually healthy.
“False positive diagnosis may result in over-investigation of what ultimately turns out to be a benign condition. This can in turn result in unnecessary anxiety in the patient and unnecessary costs.” The best option for patients is to discuss all these issues directly with their doctors, who should inform them of all the possible risks, as well as the benefits, before deciding to undergo screening tests. Patients should know that screening is not perfect; it may not detect every cancer, but it can detect can-cer early enough to achieve remission. A 3-dimensional image from a neurosurgical navigational system, which allows the neurosurgeon to see functional information during the operation. The tumour is in yellow. The motor cortex (the part of the brain that controls motor function) is in red. Purple indicates the large veins overlying the surface of the brain. Imaging techniques have significantly improved in recent decades. As technologies are constantly being refined, imaging modalities will become even more accurate and reliable in the future. Low-dose chest spiral CT in lung cancer screening is very promising. But there are still enormous challenges and questions to be answered before this technique can be approved for use around the world. One of the main problems remains the significant disparity in access to and use of tools for prevention and early detection of cancer.
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