Virtual Colonoscopies Help Identify Additional Tumors Outside of the Colon

Although medical specialists has already accepted that colorectal cancer (CRC) screening is cost-effective and saves lives, investigators have found that computed tomography colonography (CTC or virtual colonoscopy) not only identifies CRC but also doubles the yield of detecting significant early extracolonic lesions, resulting in lives saved.

CTC is an emerging noninvasive rapid imaging technique developed for CRC screening. It is less invasive than optical colonoscopy and may improve patient adherence and CRC screening. In addition to intracolonic findings, CTC examines the entire abdomen and pelvis similarly to a CT scan. "The ability of CTC to identify significant extracolonic lesions at an early treatable stage may increase the yield of CRC screening, thus enhancing CTC as a major screening technique,” said Ganesh R. Veerappan, M.D., lead author of the study, published in the September 2010 issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR).

The study, performed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (Washington, DC, USA) included 2,277 patients who underwent CTC. Of those patients, extracolonic findings were identified in 1,037 patients, with 787 insignificant and 240 significant findings. "When considering extracolonic findings, CTC increased the odds of identifying high-risk lesions by 78%. CTC should be considered as an alternative to optimal colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening or as a onetime procedure to identify significant treatable intracolonic and extracolonic lesions,” concluded Dr. Veerappan.

Related Links:
Walter Reed Army Medical Center