US study backs virtual colonoscopy:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Virtual computed tomographic colonography (CTC), which can provide non-invasive three-dimensional images of the colon has shown positive results in a 34-patient US trial. CTC helped researchers at Harvard Medical School in Boston accurately determine the stage of patients' colorectal cancer pre-operatively in 80% of cases, a figure that compares favourably with a 60% accuracy rate for conventional CT scans, according to a report in Diseases of the Colon and Rectum (March). CTC could replace standard colonoscopies for screening colorectal cancer and polyps in certain patients in the next five years, said study researcher Ronald Bleday.