Colorectal Cancer Screening

Colorectal Cance interventions have worked well. Death and diability is prevented in most cases when found among asymptomatic individuals. The two new tests, added to five others, are CT colonography (CTC), also known as virtual colonoscopy, and stool DNA-testing. Stool DNA-testing will mainly aid the detection of cancer, similar to testing for faecal occult blood, but without the need for multiple stool samples and without reliance on the non-specific and intermittent occult bleeding. CTC is minimally invasive, allows examination of the entire colon and rectum, and takes only about 10 min to acquire images. Patients undergoing CTC still require full bowel preparation. The Cancer society says the real issue of successful screening, however, remains the dismal uptake—about 30% for colonoscopy and 15% for faecal occult blood-testing in the USA. Colorectal cancer can only be prevented and mortality reduced if all screening tests are offered widely and people are made aware of the importance of screening. If the use of these screening tests is to increase then the discomfort associated with the preparation must decrease. (Volume 371, Issue 9616, 15 March 2008-21 March 2008, Page 872 )