Double Contrast Barium Enema Effective in Screening for Colorectal Cancer

A double contrast barium enema is an effective way of screening for colorectal cancer, according to researchers at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, England.

Researchers analyzed reports of 880 double contrast barium enema procedures, hospital case notes with a minimum follow up of 2 years, diagnostic colonoscopy performed later in the study, operative findings and tissue examination.

They found 74 cases of colorectal cancer discovered using DCBE that were confirmed by surgery and tissue examination. There were 4 false positive and 8 false negative diagnoses of colorectal cancer with DCBE, according to their report in Clinical Radiology.

The sensitivity of the DCBE for detecting colorectal cancer was 90.2 percent and the specificity was 99.5 percent, according to the study.

"DCBE is a sensitive and highly specific investigation for the detection of colorectal carcinoma," concluded the researchers.

Other Sources: Clinical Radiology