Study: Virtual Colonoscopy Not Adequate in Screening for Colorectal Cancer

A virtual colonoscopy, which scans a person's colon using imaging technlogy, may be less invasive, less expensive and a lower risk method of screening for colorectal cancer but it also is less effective, according to University of Michigan researchers.

Virtual colonoscopy uses CT (computed tomography) or MR (magnetic resonance) imaging technology to examine the colon for cancer and precancerous growths.

Dr. Aaron Link of the University of Michigan said an analysis of data from 16 studies on virtual colonoscopy found that the new technology missed 27 percent of colorectal lesions, including precancerous colon polyps and colon cancers.

The virtual colonoscopy was only 73 percent successful at identifying lesions in the colon that could be cancerous polyps, compared to the 95 percent success rate afforded by a colonoscopy, researchers found.

They also found that the virtual colonoscopy falsely identified 18 percent of healthy patients as having lesions.

"Using current technology, 'virtual' colonoscopy is not an adequate screening tool for colorectal cancer," Link concluded in remarks prepared for the 68th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology.

Other sources: University of Michigan