In a group of 300 Munich patients who underwent both CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy) and optical colonoscopy on the same day, CT colonography was both sensitive and specific in finding polyps.
Dividing the adenomas into three groups — small polyps under 5 mm, intermediate 6 mm to 9 mm, and large 10 mm and over–, the radiologists found sensitivity and specificity of:
- 96% and 100% for large polyps
- 92% and 96.7% for intermediate
- 78.9 and 89.5% for small
Optical colonoscopy missed one large, two intermediate, and eight small polyps for sensitivities of 96%, 95%, and 89.5%.
Dr. Anno Graser, a radiologist at the University of Munich, presented the results at the 2006 meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) on November 28. The study is part of the Munich Colorectal Cancer Prevention Trial.
The researchers cautioned that while CT colonography is highly accurate in finding polyps, there is more of a problem in finding flat lesions, a difficulty shared with optical colonoscopy.
Dr. Graser also presented a new 3-dimensional CT technique that provides a panoramic view of the colon and requires only one passage of the scanner from rectum to colon rather than a two-directional one. The technique decreased the time necessary for the test without sacrificing accuracy
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