CT scans use X-ray beams that rotate around a stationary patient, producing cross-sectional images, or “slices” of the body area being analyzed. Most CT scans are conducted when checking the cause of a patient’s symptoms or to confirm or rule out a suspected illness. However, CT can also be used as a screening tool, detecting disease at an early stage before it produces symptoms and while it remains limited enough to be effectively treated.
While CT can be used as a tool for early detection of cancers and other illnesses, there are also risks for false positives in healthy patients, leading to costly follow-up testing or even unnecessary surgical procedures.
In recent years, the idea of using a whole-body CT scan (WBCT) as a non-targeted screening tool has been gaining in popularity among the public and with some radiologists. This tool was first made popular by an early 2000 Wall Street Journal article which reported on the efforts of several radiologists who were seeking to make CT part of preventative medicine programs. Since then, the media has publicized the emergence of new facilities for whole-body CT screenings and advertising their life-saving potential as screening tools.
Hard numbers are not available, but industry reports have claimed that the use of whole-body CT scans have doubled or possibly tripled in the past five years. Those with the resources to afford the costly test have accepted the benefits of such a screening tool, seeking the reassurance that comes from a normal scan. Experts, however, are divided on the value of this test, which can cost upwards of $1,000 or more in some cases.
As you weigh the possibility of a whole-body CT scan, consider the pros and cons outlined by experts below: