Do xrays show cancer?

April 8, 2005 -- When the news that Peter Jennings had lung cancer hit earlier this week, many WebMD users asked why doctors don't use chest X-rays to diagnose lung cancer at an early stage, when it's more treatable. WebMD turned to cancer expert Harold Burstein, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, for the answer. read more

Cancer shows up on certain types of medical X-rays, making it an essential tool in detecting cancer, according to Cancer Research UK. X-ray radiation poses some health risks, but the potential diagnostic and preventive benefits typically outweigh the risks of the radiation. read more

X-rays and gamma rays are known human carcinogens (cancer-causing agents). The evidence for this comes from many different sources, including studies of atomic bomb survivors in Japan, people exposed during the Chernobyl nuclear accident, people treated with high doses of radiation for cancer and other conditions, and people exposed to high levels of radiation at work, such as uranium miners. read more