title: Probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy evaluation of colon preneoplastic lesions, with particular attention to the aberrant crypt foci, and comparative assessment with histological features obtained by conventional endoscopy.
abstract: The colorectal carcinoma represents one of the most common and aggressive malignancies, still characterized by an unacceptable mortality rate, mainly due to the high metastatic potential and to a late diagnosis. In the last years, the research community focused on the chance of improving the endoscopic screening to detect neoplastic lesions in a very early stage. Several studies proposed aberrant colonic crypt foci as the earliest recognizable step of transformation in colonic multiphase carcinogenesis. We previously demonstrated the clinical applicability and predictive power of probe-based confocal laser endoscopy (pCLE) in superficial colorectal neoplastic lesions and also characterized in vivo a case of dysplasia-associated lesional mass (DALM) in ulcerative colitis. Now, we aim to evaluate the accuracy of pCLE in the detection of ACF comparing in double-blind manner the microendoscopic and histopathological features resulting from colonic biopsy. By pCLE, we identified specific crypt architecture modifications associated with changes in cellular infiltration and vessels architecture, highlighting a good correspondence between pCLE features and histology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomorphological and Functional Sciences, Pathology Section, University of Naples "Federico II", 80131 Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mascolo
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Staibano
authors.forename: Gennaro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ilardi
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Siano
authors.forename: Maria Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Vecchione
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: De Rosa
authors.forename: Giovanni Domenico
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: De Palma