CT scans may trigger cancer in as many as one in 80 patients, according to a new study in the US.

Researchers said that the level of radiation can vary wildly depending on where on the body it is applied, according to dailymail.co.uk.

University of California professor Rebecca Smith-Bindman, who led the study, said that the cancer risk associated with CT radiation is often quoted as one in 1,000 patients.

“In our study, the risk of getting cancer in certain groups of patients for certain kinds of scans was as high as one in 80,” Smith-Bindman said.

The typical dose delivered by a single CT scan was the equivalent of 74 mammograms or 442 chest X-rays, the research said.