It's overly dismissive to say it has no meaning. We know increases in radiation lead to increases in cancer 20-40 years out. We also know we can't design cont

It's overly dismissive to say it has no meaning. We know increases in radiation lead to increases in cancer 20-40 years out. We also know we can't design controlled experiments to properly measure risk (because of medical ethics), so we have to rely on epidemiological studies and animal testing, which have holes that well-funded carcinogen-producing industries can drive trucks through. It's a difficult problem to balance risks of CT scan radiation against diagnostic value. Nobody wants to have to make that call. And CT scans are the tip of the iceberg. The easy answer for doctors is to simply ignore the risks of CT scans, since the legal system will back them up, but it won't back them up if they don't do a CT scan but the standard of care calls for a CT scan to diagnose a relatively minor or relatively unlikely problem. related book: The Secret History of the War on Cancer by Devra Davis