Virtual Colonoscopy Could Encourage More Screening
The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison is reporting results of a study showing virtual colonoscopies are just as effective as traditional colonoscopies at detecting potentially cancerous growths.
CT Colonography (commonly referred to as virtual colonoscopy, VC, or CTC) uses CT imaging and computers to create a 3D view of the colon after it has been inflated with air. No recovery time is necessary because sedation isn’t required.
The good news is the virtual screening is quicker, less expensive and less invasive. The bad news is patients still have to purge their bowel with laxatives before the procedure, they are exposed to a low dose of radiation and, if polyps are found, they’ll need a conventional colonoscopy to remove them.
Studies showed over 90% of patients didn’t require the traditional procedure after having the virtual version. Proponents of VC hope it will help encourage individuals who are hesitant about undergoing a colonoscopy to get screened.
Statistics indicate only half the Americans who should be screened for colon cancer actually get tested resulting in thousands of preventable deaths each year.
Results from the VC research are published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Source: USA Today
Related Links: American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy; virtualcolonoscopy.org
Related Podcast: Barry Stein Reacts to My Cancer Interview from penmachine.com
Related Video:
Tags: gastroenterology; Dr David H Kim; Dr Perry J. Pickhardt; radiology
Print This
|
| Sphere: Related Content
No Comments »
No comments yet.
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Leave a comment
Browse All Categories: Next article: Outpatient Procedure Helps Relieve Spinal Cancer Pain
Previous article: Cancer is Killing the Devils
