Screening Virtual Colonoscopy — Ready for Prime Time?

Many professional societies in the United States recommend screening for colorectal cancer in asymptomatic, average-risk adults, beginning at 50 years of age. Screening achieves two goals: the detection of early-stage nonmetastatic cancers that are surgically curable and the identification and removal of benign adenomatous polyps, the precursor lesions of nearly all adenocarcinomas. Several approaches to screening are available, ranging from the least expensive and least invasive, fecal occult-blood testing, to the more costly and invasive procedures — flexible sigmoidoscopy, barium enema, and colonoscopy. Each of these tests has inherent strengths and weaknesses related to cost, risk, sensitivity, specificity, and availability. . . .