'Virtual colonoscopy' techniques and training need to be improved before widespread cl...( The accuracy of computed tomographic co...),Health

According to background information in the article, conventional colonoscopy is the best available method for detection of colorectal cancer and its precursors. However, it is invasive and not without risk, so a simpler alternative would be welcome. Computed tomographic colonography (CTC) has been reported to be reasonably accurate in the diagnosis of colorectal tumors in studies performed at expert centers. CTC involves the examination of computer-generated images of the colon constructed from data obtained from an abdominal computed tomographic examination.

Peter B. Cotton, M.D., of the Digestive Disease Center at the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, S.C., and colleagues assessed the accuracy of CTC in a large number of participants from multiple centers. The study included 615 patients aged 50 years or older who were referred for routine, clinically indicated colonoscopy at nine major hospital centers between April 17, 2000 and October 3, 2001. The CTC was performed before the standard colonoscopy and results were compared.

The researchers found that the sensitivity of CTC for detecting participants with one or more lesions sized at least 6 mm was only 39 percent and for lesions sized at least 10 mm, it was only 55 percent. These results were significantly lower than those for conventional colonoscopy, with sensitivities of 99 percent and 100 percent, respectively. The accuracy of CTC varied considerably between centers and did not improve as the study progressed.

"Our results indicate that CTC using these techniques is not ready fo
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Contact: Ellen Bank
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JAMA and Archives Journals
13-Apr-2004