3-D CT Scans Offer "Virtual" Colorectal Cancer Screening

Half of average-risk Americans have not been screened for colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Part of the reluctance is the discomfort involved with most screening methods. Optical colonoscopy, for example, requires inserting a camera through the rectum – and carries the risk of bleeding, perforation, side effects of sedatives, and other complications.¹ But a new form of colorectal cancer screening, called virtual colonoscopy, may change that.

A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine in December 2003, found that virtual colonoscopy – a minimally invasive procedure done with a CT scanner – detects cancer just as effectively as optical colonoscopy. But the discomfort is much reduced for many patients. According to the study, some 90 percent of patients who responded to a questionnaire after the virtual colonoscopy "rated their level of satisfaction with virtual colonoscopy as 'excellent' (40.6 percent), 'very good' (32.8 percent), 'good' (17.9 percent).…"² Click here to view the study

Virtual colonoscopy with CT resembles a "fly-through" of the entire colon, though no instruments enter the patient's body. Click here to view a video clip of the exam in 3-D. For more detail on virtual colonoscopy, click here.

¹ "Screening Virtual Colonoscopy – Ready For Prime Time?", Morrin MM, LaMont TJ, The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 349, No. 23: 2261-2264, December 4, 2003.
² "Computed Tomographic Virtual Colonoscopy to Screen for Colorectal Neoplasia in Asymptomatic Adults," Pickhardt PJ, Choi R, Hwang I, Butler JA, Puckett ML, Hildebrandt HA, Wong RK, Nugent PA, Mysliwiec PA, Schindler WR, The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 349, No. 23: 2191-2200, December 4, 2003.