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.
Smokers can add pre-cancerous growths in the colon to the host of increased health risks they face, according to two studies presented at the 69th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology.
This cheap over-the-counter drug can be used not only for fever, pain and arthritis, but to prevent heart attack, stroke or angina. It also may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. Yet aspirin also has side effects worth considering, and its very accessibility may hamper its use.
The study found just over half (54 percent) of men and women reported having ever undergone endoscopy (sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy). The percentage that underwent either procedure in the past five years for screening rather than for disease diagnosis or follow up was just 24 percent.
A study in today’s issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine reports a miss rate of approximately 10 percent for large (>5mm) precancerous polyps during conventional colonoscopy.
The test detects an enzyme, called Tumour M2-PK, which is a by-product of tumour growth. The enzyme leaks from the cancerous tissue into the bowel and can then be found in faeces.
According to results released today from the newest survey of people with Crohn's disease, "Voices of Crohn's," 60 percent of people with Crohn's, between the ages of 18 and 34, have been hospitalized within the last two years and more than half have required surgery within the past five years.
A colonoscopy allows a physician look inside the entire large intestine, from the lowest part, the rectum, all the way up through the colon to the lower end of the small intestine.
If it doesn't sound like your typical disposable camera, that's because it's not. And while this new camera is not designed to snap shots during vacations or at other special occasions, patients are finding that the latest in high-tech, digital photography is very easy to swallow.
While taking calcium supplements can decrease the risk of all types of colorectal polyps, research led by Dartmouth Medical School shows calcium had the greatest effect on advanced colorectal adenomas, considered to be most strongly associated with invasive colorectal cancer.
The Government needs to resolve a number of issues to ensure the health service can cope with a national bowel screening programme, a leading Cancer Research UK scientist will tell conference delegates today (Tuesday).
In new studies presented today at Digestive Disease Week in New Orleans, scientists report that women’s preferences for a female physician may delay or prevent proper colorectal screenings due to a lack of females in the field and diabetes may be a significant risk factor for development of colon cancer.
Many women who regularly get checked for breast cancer and cervical cancer still don’t go for a test that could save them from another big killer -- colon cancer – according to new University of Michigan research. But perhaps their mammogram and Pap smear appointments could be used as “teachable moments” to help prompt them to get their colons checked, the researchers suggest.
Findings of a new multicenter study by Cotton et al. published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association comparing standard colonoscopy with CT colonography for the detection of colorectal cancer reveal that this technology, in the form used most often in the United States, while of significant interest, is not presently a viable option for routine colorectal cancer screening.
Demonstrating clearly that not all virtual colonoscopies are equal, the study, published in the December 2003 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine and the American Journal of Roentgenology, found the results found using the Viatronix V3D-Colon system for primary 3D reading to be equal to or better than optical colonoscopy results.
A new study published in JAMA on CT colonography or 'virtual' colonoscopy using 2-D imaging finds that this test lacks the sensitivity and specificity of conventional colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening. Study co-author and American College of Gastroenterology President Douglas K. Rex, M.D. is available for interviews.
In a landmark study published today in Nature Genetics, researchers from St Vincent's Hospital, The Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute and the University of New South Wales have shown that a possible cause of cancer is a defect in the function of otherwise normal genes.