Clinical Trial Finds Accuracy of Virtual Colonoscopy Comparable to Standard Colonoscopy
September 18, 2008
CT colonoscopy is comparable to standard colonoscopy in accurately detecting cancer and pre-cancerous polyps and could serve as an initial screening exam for colorectal cancer, according to a study published in today’s New England Journal of Medicine and announced by the National Cancer Institute.
The study, which enrolled more than 2,600 patients at 15 sites nationwide, was the largest multi-center trial ever to compare the accuracy of state-of-the-art CT colonoscopy (also known as colonography) to the gold standard of conventional colonoscopy. It was conducted by the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN).
“CT colonography could be adopted into the mainstream of clinical practice as a primary option for colorectal cancer screening,” said the trial’s principal investigator C. Daniel Johnson, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona. “We hope that this additional, less-invasive option for cancer screening will lead more people to get screened and will ultimately result in fewer deaths from colorectal cancer.”
In the trial, CT colonoscopy was found to be highly accurate for the detection of intermediate and large polyps. Some 90 percent of the polyps one centimeter or larger were detected by CT, although even polyps as small as one half centimeter were detected with a high degree of accuracy. NCI said that because most colon cancers develop from polyps, and screening to find and remove these polyps can prevent colon cancer, an opportunity exists to save lives with early detection.
For the NCI release, click here.
For a Q&A from the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN), click here.
For an abstract of the study on the New England Journal of Medicine website, click here.
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