Colorectal cancer is not destiny. Screening prevents the development of colorectal cancer and enables a tumor detected early to be treated successfully. Early detection – regardless of personal risk – is the only way to effectively combat colorectal cancer.
Different methods of colorectal cancer screening
Different methods used for early detection of colorectal cancer as part of colorectal cancer screening include colonoscopy, virtual colonoscopy, occult blood tests, and palpation.
Colonoscopy (coloscopy)
The most effective method of early detection is colonoscopy. If the findings here are unremarkable, the examination is repeated after 10 years. The still widespread fear of colonoscopy is unfounded. Since October 2002, quality assurance has been in effect throughout Germany, so that only experienced physicians are allowed to perform preventive colonoscopy. In the hands of such doctors, the examination is a painless and uncomplicated procedure.
After a thorough cleansing of the bowel by purging, a thin, flexible tube with a mini camera is inserted through the anus. The procedure takes about 20 minutes and is painless with the help of a sedative injection. If desired, the patient can follow the examination on a monitor or sleep during the procedure. Polyps discovered during colonoscopy are often removed as well: an extendable snare snips off the polyp. In principle, all polyps discovered during a colonoscopy are removed; although not every polyp would become a colon tumor, every colon cancer was once a polyp. Only when the polyp is examined on fine tissue can it be determined whether individual, degenerate cells were already hidden within it.
Virtual colonoscopy
Virtual colonoscopy, also called CT colonography, is a newer high-tech procedure to view the inside of the colon and examine it for changes. While a “classic” colonoscopy involves inserting an endoscope into the intestine, virtual colonoscopy does not take place directly in the body but is “simulated” on a computer. This requires computer-aided examination methods such as computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), whose digital cross-sectional images are converted by special computer programs into a three-dimensional view of the intestine.
Just like a normal colonoscopy, virtual colonoscopy requires the bowel to be cleansed in advance to allow the view of the bowel wall. The reliability and informative value of the virtual examination depends on the software, which enables the representation of the interior of the intestine on the computer monitor due to complicated computing processes. With the help of improved software programs, it is becoming increasingly possible to further increase the reliability of virtual colonoscopy.
For reliable screening and early detection of colorectal cancer and colon polyps, endoscopic colonoscopy is nevertheless considered the most informative method, especially since even very small or inflammatory changes can be detected and polyps discovered can be removed in one examination procedure.
