Virtual endoscopy
Colon cancer screening without an endoscope
Previously, the colon was examined with an endoscope every 5 years to find polyps, benign changes in the colon wall that can develop into colon cancer. However, only a few, around 5% of all patients examined, exhibit these changes.
Classic endoscopy (fiberoptic video endoscopy) has the disadvantage that the colon is often difficult to navigate with the endoscope, especially in older people. The ascending colon is often not reached, or only with difficulty. Polyps and even larger tumors can thus be overlooked. There is also a risk of perforating the bowel wall if the endoscope is difficult to navigate. Video endoscopy can also only show changes in the interior of the intestine (lumen). Changes in the intestinal wall or outside, in the abdominal cavity, remain hidden from view through the endoscope.
Virtual endoscopy is a procedure that has been developed and optimized in the USA over the last 15 years and was recognized by the American Society of Gastroenterology in 2008 as equivalent to conventional video endoscopy (with a “tube”).
Virtual endoscopy / colonoscopy is recommended by, among others:
- American Cancer Society (ACS)
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)
- American College of Radiology (ACR)
- European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (ESGAR)
