CT colonoscopy in 2007: the next standard for colorectal cancer screening in average-risk subjects?

摘要

Over a decade has passed since computed tomo-graphic colonography (CTC) was first described as a potential tool for the detection of colonic polyps. Today CTC is highly specific, but the range of reported sensitivities is wide. Patient or scanner characteristics do not fully account for this variability, but collimation, the number of CT detectors, the mode of imaging, and operator expertise do explain some of the discrepancies. In the present issue of Endoscopy, Kim et al. [1 ] describe the meticulous technique they used at the University of Wisconsin and explain how they have organized an active CTC-based screening program for colorectal carcinoma (CRC). However, the role of CTC in CRC screening is still debatable, and their interesting paper raises three major issues which ought to be discussed: