Virtual biopsy probes and retrograde-viewing devices improve polyp detection rates during colonoscopy, according to several studies released this month.
Mayo Clinic researchers anticipate that virtual biopsy probes might soon be able to determine if a polyp is cancerous, eliminating the need to remove it for biopsy. In the March issue of the journal Gastroenterology, they note that confocal laser endomicroscopy probes were 91% accurate in detecting precancerous polyps, which topped the 77% accuracy rate of virtual chromoendoscopy probes.
"We are getting closer to where we want to be, which is 100% accurate," says the study's senior author, Michael Wallace, MD, MPH, professor of medicine at the clinic's College of Medicine in Jacksonville, Fla. "Someday soon we will be able to use these probes to virtually biopsy a polyp, removing only those that could become cancerous."
Meanwhile, 2 studies appearing in the March issue of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy tout the efficacy of a retrograde viewing device that fits into a standard colonoscope to provide continuous backward views of the colon as the scope is withdrawn. The first study reports 13.2% more polyps were detected, including 11% more precancerous polyps, when the device was used.
The second study notes the device increased overall polyp detection rates by 14.8% and helped detect 16% more adenomas than a standard colonoscope did. "Compared with routine colonoscopy, a retrograde-viewing device can increase detection rates for clinically significant adenomas without detriment to procedure time or procedure complications," this study's authors conclude.
Daniel Cook |