Virtual Colonoscopy: Early Detection of Nation's #2 Cancer Killer
"Indeed, virtual colonoscopy allowed the detection of lesions that were missed on conventional colonscopy."
Source: "Screening Virtual Colonoscopy – Ready for Prime Time?"
Morrin et al; NEJM, Dec. 4, 2003. |
The second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. is colorectal cancer. It will strike some 150,000 Americans this year and kills more than 56,000 annually. But 90 percent of colorectal cancer cases can be cured if detected early.1
A 2003 study in the New England Journal of Medicine2 found that virtual colonoscopy – a minimally invasive examination of the entire colon with CT scanning – is an accurate screening method for detecting cancerous polyps in the colon at their earliest and most treatable stages. The study concluded that virtual colonoscopy – which many patients believe is more comfortable than regular colonoscopy – is just as effective, easier, and more convenient than the traditional method which is performed with an optical scope. Click here to view the study
| Patient-Friendly Colon Cancer Screening with Medical Imaging |
| |
VIRTUAL COLONOSCOPY
WITH IMAGING |
STANDARD COLONOSCOPY
WITHOUT IMAGING |
| COMFORT |
Minimally invasive
No sedation |
Invasive
Sedation |
| DETECTION (SENSITIVITY) |
93.8% (polyp > 10 mm
93.9% (polyp > 8 mm)
88.7% (polyp > 6 mm) |
87.5% (polyp > 10 mm
91.5% (polyp > 8 mm)
92.3% (polyp > 6 mm) |
| PROCEDURE/RECOVERY TIME |
30 minutes |
96 minutes |
| COST |
$500-$1,000 |
$1,000-$2,000 |
| PATIENTS WHO BELIEVE THE OPTION WAS BETTER THAN THE ALTERNATIVE |
68.3% |
24.1% |
| PATIENTS WHO WOULD CHOOSE THE SAME OPTION |
49.8% |
41.1% |
| Adapted from: "Computed Tomographic Virtual Colonoscopy to Screen for Colorectal Neoplasia in Asymptomatic Adults," Pickhardt et. al., The New England Journal of Medicine, December 4, 2003; also "'Virtual Colonoscopy' Gains Support," The Wall Street Journal, December 2, 2003. |
- The authors found that the virtual colonoscopy with CT was so accurate that "the likelihood that a clinically significant adenoma [cancerous polyp] would be missed on virtual colonoscopy is very low…"3
- The study concluded that virtual colonoscopy did a good job of detecting the size of polyps most often found to be cancerous – and it did so under very stringent standards. "Virtual colonoscopy not only had high sensitivity, but also maintained acceptable specificity for adenomas that were more than 6 mm in diameter, despite the application of a more stringent size-based algorithm than others have used…."4
- Among the most important factors in the higher accuracy of CT was the fact that the scans were in 3-D, rather than 2-D, which allowed greater definition and clearer view. The authors also concluded that the use of multidetector helical CT scanners, which permit faster imaging using thinner view sections, also contributed to the results.
- Patients found virtual colonoscopy more acceptable than traditional colonoscopy with an optical scope. More than 90 percent of patients reported their level of satisfaction with virtual colonoscopy as excellent, very good, or good.
1 "Screening for Colorectal Cancer," Gazelle GS, McMahon PM, Scholz FJ; Radiology, 2000; 215:327-335.
2 "Computed Tomographic Virtual Colonoscopy to Screen for Colorectal Neoplasia in Asymptomatic Adults," Rickhardt 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, 2003; 349:2191-200.
3 Ibid., p. 2198
4 Ibid., p. 2197
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