| [ Summary ] |
Interval cancer (IC) is not to be regarded as synonymous with post-colonoscopy colorectal cancer (PCCRC), in that the former is used in cancer screening involving healthy individuals, while the latter involves both a fecal occult blood test (FOBT) and colonoscopy as part of the workup that is required in symptomatic individuals. Again, PCCRC not only requires that the clinician considers special types of CRC, such as "missed cancers" or "rapidly growing cancers," but also serves as a "quality indicator" for colonoscopy (i.e., as a measure of quality and accuracy of colonoscopy based on its detection rate in a manner that is quite similarly to the adenoma detection rate). While a definition of the PCCRC detection rate has not yet been established, the World Endoscopy Organization Expert Working Party (EWP) proposes that it be defined as the number of cases per 1000 person-years. In this way, it is important that clinicians ensure the correct usage of the terms IC and PCCRC and that the PCCRC detection rate is described as a standardized incidence rate. In doing so, the PCCRC detection rate may be regarded not only as an indicator for further attentiveness to special types of CRC, but also as a "quality indicator" for colonoscopy. |