The researchers estimated that 3.2 percent of people aged 75 and under diagnosed with cancer each year contracted it during diagnostic X-rays, which are used in conventional radiography and imaging techniques such as computerized tomography.

The figure is the highest among the 15 developed countries cited in the study, published in the British medical journal Lancet.

The Oxford researchers said they estimated the likely extent of cancer risk based on the annual number of diagnostic X-rays undertaken in the 15 developed countries and other data.

German researchers in an accompanying commentary criticized the calculations, saying they fail to consider the benefits of X-ray examinations, such as the early detection of cancer.

The Japan Times Weekly: Feb. 21, 2004
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