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Review
. 2022 Mar;55(2):183-190.
doi: 10.5946/ce.2021.254. Epub 2022 Feb 24.

Can Computed Tomography Colonography Replace Optical Colonoscopy in Detecting Colorectal Lesions?: State of the Art

Alessia Chini  1 , Michele Manigrasso  2 , Grazia Cantore  1 , Rosa Maione  1 , Marco Milone  1 , Francesco Maione  1 , Giovanni Domenico De Palma  1
Affiliations
Review

Can Computed Tomography Colonography Replace Optical Colonoscopy in Detecting Colorectal Lesions?: State of the Art

Alessia Chini et al. Clin Endosc. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Colorectal cancer is an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Optical colonoscopy (OC) is widely accepted as the reference standard for the screening of colorectal polyps and cancers, and computed tomography colonography (CTC) is a valid alternative to OC. The purpose of this review was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of OC and CTC for colorectal lesions. A literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library, and 18 articles were included. CTC has emerged in recent years as a potential screening examination with high accuracy for the detection of colorectal lesions. However, the clinical application of CTC as a screening technique is limited because it is highly dependent on the size of the lesions and has poor performance in detecting individual lesions <5 mm or flat lesions, which, although rarely, can have a malignant potential.

Keywords: Colonoscopy; Colorectal cancer; Colorectal polyps; Computed tomographic colonography.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Study selection flowchart according to preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA). CT, computed tomography; CTC, computed tomography colonography; OC, optical colonoscopy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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