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MONDAY, April 23 (HealthDay News) -- A cutting-edge technology called "virtual colonoscopy" promises fewer complications and better cost-effectiveness than traditional colonoscopy, researchers report.
These technologies have been compared before, but the current analysis relies on the notion that identifying and removing polyps smaller than 6 millimeters won't do much to reduce colorectal cancer cases.
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"Because there's virtually no risk associated with having such small polyps, 90 percent of folks don't need an invasive and expensive colonoscopy to screen for colon cancer," explained lead researcher Dr. Perry J. Pickhardt, an associate professor in the school of medicine and public health and radiologist at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
"So, here it was easy to show that virtual colonoscopy is a very effective way to filter out these people and hone in on those who really need the more invasive procedure," he said.
Pickhardt is not suggesting that virtual colonoscopies replace traditional optical screening. But non-invasive screening might up the number of people who decide to undergo screening, he said.
"We need to encourage more folks to get screened, period," he said. "We're not trying to take away from the screening already in place. It's a personal choice. Some people prefer the colonoscopy route compared to virtual colonoscopy, and that's fine. Just so long as you do one or the other."
Pickhardt and his colleagues discussed their findings in the June 1 issue of the journal Cancer.
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States among both men and women.
People over the age of 50, smokers, African-Americans, Jews of Eastern European descent, those with a personal or family history of the disease, or those with a history of polyps or bowel disease are at an increased risk for colon or rectal cancer.
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