One of the barriers towards undergoing testing to detect colon cancer that is often mentioned is the highly uncomfortable and invasive procedure called colonoscopy, which people tend to shy away from. Fecal Occult Blood Tests (FOBT) may be readily available, less invasive and is a lot of help, but results from this test still has to be followed up with a colonoscopy.
But what if there is a way to perform colonoscopy sans an invasive procedure? An Italian and Belgian research study, to be released in the Journal of the American Medical Association this week, looked into the possibility of using a procedure called virtual colonoscopy – or computer tomographic (CT) colonoscopy – as an alternative to traditional colonoscopy for those who are squeamish about the latter’s invasive nature.
The results of the study showed that virtual colonoscopy, which uses x-rays and computers to produce a three-dimensional image of the colon, was able to identify 85% of suspicious growths in test subjects who had an elevated risk of developing colon cancer. More than 900 participants comprised the test pool, all of whom had an increased risk for developing colon cancer due to close family history, history of polyp removal or a positive FOBT.
Of the 177 people who had growths from this population, virtual colonoscopy was able to successfully identify 151.
Critics and practitioners contend, though, that this test may not be for everyone, especially for those who have positive FOBTs and a history of flat polyps, which are often missed by the procedure. It especially does not make sense to use the procedure for those who have extremely high risk of developing the disease, since these patients more often than not will have suspicious growths that will need to be removed, something that traditional colonoscopy can do within the procedure.
For now, the general opinion provided by practitioners is that the virtual colonoscopy is a good test, and may benefit those who may have normal to slightly-higher-than-normal risk for colon cancer, but not those who have a big chance of developing the disease. Besides, aside from the fact that people complain about the actual procedure for traditional colonoscopy, they also are not particularly fond of the prep phase – something that a patient undergoing virtual colonoscopy will have to go through as well.
It is great, however, to have information regarding all possible methods available, so that people can discuss better with their physician what option makes sense to their specific needs.

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