Results of a large-scale, multicenter study conducted by the National Institutes of Health demonstrate that computed tomography (CT) colonography with computer-aided detection is highly effective for finding colon polyps. While most polyps are benign and not cancerous, over time some types of polyps can turn into cancer. To be safe, doctors remove all polyps and then test them.
CT colonography, known as virtual colonoscopy, is a minimally invasive examination that physicians hope will encourage more people to undergo screening for colon cancer. Virtual colonoscopy is desirable because there is no risk of bleeding or colon perforation and intravenous sedation is unnecessary. In addition, the procedure costs less than conventional colonoscopy and is more convenient, taking 15 minutes or less.
"The performance of virtual colonoscopy continues to improve, and the exam will become a colorectal cancer screening method more patients and doctors will find acceptable," said the study's senior investigator, Dr. Ronald Summers, chief of the Clinical Image Processing Service and chief of the Virtual Endoscopy and Computer-Aided Diagnosis Laboratory at the NIH Clinical Center. "I think CAD is soon to become a mainstream technology."
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