This year, 2025, more than 152,000 individuals will be diagnosed with colon and rectal cancer. Almost 53,000 will die.1 Unlike many other forms of cancer, colorectal cancer is mostly a preventable disease when screening is widely embraced. That is because colorectal cancers often arise from growths called polyps. When small, these polyps are almost always benign, meaning non-cancerous. Removal of the important ones, generally 1 centimeter or larger, can prevent most colorectal cancers. The goal of screening should be to find these polyps and remove them before they grow into colorectal cancer.

Stool tests like Cologuard are not optimal for screening because they cannot reliably detect the polyps that are the precursors to colorectal cancer. They also suffer from a lack of specificity for colorectal cancer. A positive Cologuard test does not mean the patient has cancer. In fact, only about 4 out of 100 positive Cologuard tests indicate true cancer, yet all patients with a positive result must undergo a colonoscopy with its associated risks and costs.2

Traditional colonoscopy is good at finding both colorectal cancers and polyps. But there is an even better test, Virtual Colonoscopy, also known as CT Colonography. Virtual Colonoscopy is performed with rapid, ultra-low-dose CT scanning. It is far safer, more accurate for finding concerning polyps, and less expensive than traditional colonoscopy.3 No sedation is required, so the patient does not need anyone to accompany them to the appointment. Immediately after the test, which takes an average of 15 minutes to complete, the patient can return to work or any other activity they choose.

Most patients seeking colorectal cancer screening are not only unfamiliar with Virtual Colonoscopy, but they are also in the dark about the risks of traditional colonoscopy. According to the medical literature, the death rate from traditional colonoscopy in the US is 7 per 100,000 colonoscopies. Since approximately 16 million colonoscopies are performed in the US annually, that translates into over 1200 deaths directly from this procedure. Ten times that number, 70 per 100,000, die within 30 days of a colonoscopy. Serious complications, including perforation, bleeding, and infection, occur in about 4-5 of every 1000 traditional colonoscopies.4 Since its inception over 20 years ago, there have been zero reported deaths from Virtual Colonoscopy. Complications from Virtual Colonoscopy are exceedingly rare.

Virtual Colonoscopy has been available in the US for more than 20 years. The accuracy and safety of this test have been long established.5 All insurance companies, including Medicare, cover Virtual Colonoscopy as a screening test for colorectal cancer. It is an approved screening method by the United States Preventive Services Task Force, the government agency responsible for recommending screening tests in the US, the American Cancer Society, and other medical organizations.

Our goal at ColoWatch® is to change the way we screen for colorectal cancer in the US. No one should ever die from a screening test. No one should be at risk of a serious complication from a screening test. Colorectal cancer screening should be safe, accurate at detecting precursor polyps that lead to colorectal cancer and cancers already present, and cost-effective. Virtual Colonoscopy checks all the boxes and should be the screening test of choice for colorectal cancer in average-risk patients.

References

  1. American Cancer Society www.acr.org
  2. Imperiale TF et al. Multitarget Stool DNA Testing for Colorectal-Cancer Screening. N Eng J Med, 2014;370:1287-1297
  3. Pickhardt PJ et al. Computed Tomographic Virtual Colonoscopy to Screen for Colorectal Neoplasia in Asymptomatic Adults. N Eng J Med, 2003;349:2191-2200
  4. Complications of Colonoscopy. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 74, No. 4: 2011, 745-752
  5. Kim, DH et al. CT Colonoscopy versus Colonoscopy for the Detection of Advanced Neoplasia. N Eng J Med, 2007;357:1403-1412