Computed tomographic colonography found to be safe and effective in older individuals
FRIDAY, Jan. 29 (HealthDay News) -- The use of computed tomographic (CT) colonography appears safe and effective for colorectal cancer screening in older individuals, according to research published in the February issue of Radiology.
David H. Kim, M.D., of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, and colleagues analyzed data from 577 participants, aged 65 to 79 years, who were referred for colorectal cancer screening and underwent CT colonography. Patients with a polyp 6 mm in size or larger were provided a referral for colonoscopy with polypectomy.
The researchers found that the rate of referral for optical colonoscopy at the 6-mm threshold was 15.3 percent, for which 277 polypectomies were performed. At 6- and 10-mm thresholds, the per-patient positivity rates for adenomas were 10.9 and 6.8 percent, respectively. The prevalence of advanced neoplasia was 7.6 percent. Extracolonic findings of potential importance, such as vascular aneurysms, were noted in 15.4 percent.
"In conclusion, CT colonography performance is maintained in an older age cohort, as evidenced by the surrogate measure of advanced neoplasia prevalence. In addition, program outcome measures, such as optical colonoscopy referral and extracolonic work-up rates, remain in a similar range to other screened groups. In this cohort, CT colonography remains a safe modality. Overall, the observations from this clinical experience confirm that CT colonography may be a valuable screening modality in the older population," the authors write.
Two co-authors reported being consultants for Viatronix and Medicsight and cofounders of VirtuoCTC.
Abstract
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