Study: CT Scans Seen Way of Screening Frail Patients for Colorectal Cancer

British researchers report that computer tomography (CT scans) are a valuable way of screening for colorectal cancer in frail, or physically or mentally disabled patients, with suspicious symptoms.

The University of Cambridge researchers, reporting in the journal Gastrointestinal, said they evaluated studies of more than 1,000 patients with a median age of 80 to evaluate the accuracy of CT scans in identifying colorectal cancer.

They said CT scans correctly identified 83 of the 98 colorectal cancers in this group of patients, who otherwise would have had difficulty in tolerating screening techniques like colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy.

"Computed tomography has a valuable role in the investigation of frail and otherwise disabled patients with symptoms suspicious for a colonic neoplasm," the researchers concluded. "Although interpretation can be difficult, the technique is able to exclude malignancy with good accuracy.

Other Sources: Gastrointestinal