Colonoscopy is examination of the inside of the colon using a colonoscope, inserted into the rectum. A colonoscope is a thin, tube-like instrument with a light and a lens for viewing. It may also have a tool to remove tissue to be checked under a microscope for signs of disease.
Even though the prevalence of colon tumors increases with age, screening colonoscopy in patients over 80 years of age results in smaller gains in life expectancy, compared to younger patients.
The safety profile for CT colonography (CTC) is extremely favorable, particularly for the purposes of screening patients with no symptoms and when distending the colon using an automated carbon dioxide technique, a finding that goes against the higher complication rates for CTC reported by other groups, according to a new study.
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths, according to background information in the article. Screening asymptomatic patients is an important strategy for reducing these deaths, because by the time patients experience symptoms, the cancer may have progressed beyond the point where it can be cured.
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States yet it is one of the most preventable forms of the disease.
Fewer than nine out of 10 low-income, medically underserved minority patients at risk for colorectal cancer receive a recommendation for colorectal cancer screening by physicians at government-supported community health centers
Researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center have created an index that is 81 percent accurate in predicting the likelihood of death within four years for people 50 and older.
A recent study in The American Journal of Gastroenterology revealed that patterns in diet may effect the development of colorectal adenomas, or precancerous polyps of the colon.
A new study of gender and risk factors for colorectal cancer reveals that while both tobacco and alcohol increase risk for colorectal cancer, women who smoke are at higher risk.
Bowel cancer rates could be reduced by up to 80 per cent in people with a moderate family history of the disease by screening with colonoscopy, according to new research published in the British Medical Journal.
Investigators failed to see improvement in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates among patients enrolled in a managed care health plan after testing the effectiveness of a CRC screening promotion program targeting the physician organizations (POs).
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in most developed countries. Screening for colorectal malignancies and polyps (which frequently become cancerous) has been shown to lower the number of deaths from cancer. Most cancer societies and preventive task forces recommend regular screening for cancer of the colon.
An intervention program designed to promote screening for colorectal cancer – and thereby decrease the number of cancers diagnosed - failed to increase screening rates in the managed care setting, a University of California - Los Angeles study has found.
Chris Wyatt is a Virginia Tech electrical engineer who is attempting to provide the medical community with better, quicker, and more relevant images of the human body. The side effects are not bad either - lower medical costs, new treatments, and earlier disease detection.
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and the Ireland Cancer Center of University Hospitals of Cleveland report identifying a new DNA gene marker, vimentin, that was shown in a recent study to be three times more effective in detecting colon cancer than the standard doctor's office test that detects blood in the stool.
In a study conducted by researchers at the Division of Gastroenterology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and published in the current (August) issue of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (GIE) by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), 43% of the women who were asked their preference of a male or female endoscopist said female, while only 1.4% said male and the rest had no preference.
Computed tomographic colonography (CTC) depicts cancers and other clinically important conditions that would be missed with standard colonoscopy and at very little additional cost, according to a study in the August issue of Radiology.
Half of New York City residents over 50, the age at which the American Cancer Society recommends beginning screening tests, have not received a colon cancer-screening test within the recommended time intervals, according to a new study.
A new multi-center study has reaffirmed the difference between the sexes – at least when it comes to colorectal cancer detection and prevention.
A new U.S. study has revealed that a commonly used screening tool for colon cancer, sigmoidoscopy, does not pick up precancerous growths in almost two-thirds of women and the failure rate is twice as high as in men.
Ulcerative colitis affects about one out of every 2,000 Americans, and after living with the disease for 30 years, nearly 22 percent of those people will develop colon cancer.