Colonography by CT, MRI and PET/CT combined with conventional colonoscopy in colorectal cancer screening and staging.
Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a leading cancer killer worldwide. But the disease is both curable and preventable at an early stage. Regular CRC cancer screening has been shown to reduce the risk of dying from CRC. However, the importance of large-scale screening is only now starting to be appreciated. This article reviews a variety of imaging procedures available for detecting ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), polyps and CRC in their early stage and also presents details on various screening options. Detecting, staging and re-staging of patients with CRC also require multimodality, multistep imaging approaches. Staging and re-staging with conventional colonoscopy (CC), computer tomography colonography (CTC), magnetic resonance colonography (MRC) and positron emission tomography/computer tomography colonography (PET/CTC) are of paramount importance in determining the most appropriate therapeutic method and in predicting the risk of tumor recurrence and overall prognosis. The advantages and limitations of these modalities are also discussed.
Sun
Long
L
Minnan PET Center, The First Hospital of Xiamen, Fujian Medical University, Xiamen 316003, Fujian Province, China.
Wu
Hua
H
Guan
Yong-Song
YS
D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D023881:Colonography, Computed Tomographic; D003113:Colonoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D012307:Risk Factors