| Theme |
Average-risk colon cander screening |
| Title |
Present situation and problems of primary colorectal cancer screening by total colonoscopy |
| Author |
Yasumoto Suzuki |
Coloproctology Center, Matsushima Hospital |
| Author |
Yutaka Watanabe |
Coloproctology Center, Matsushima Hospital |
| [ Summary ] |
We studied colorectal cancers with submucosal or deeper invasion, detected in 112,615 total colonoscopies (TCS), performed at our center from 1988 to 1999. Based on the results, we discussed the present situation and problems with primary colorectal cancer screening by TCS and reached the following conclusions: 1. A single TCS is sufficient for primary colorectal cancer screening; 2. Performing TCS twice in patients 60 years of age or over and once in patients below 60 years of age can achieve satisfactory screening levels for colorectal cancer; 3. It is preferable to conduct a second TCS within 1 to 2 years of an initial one; 4. Inadequate efficiency of TCS prevents the wide spread use of primary colorectal cancer screening by this method; 5. Slow increase in the number of initial TCS examinations is a hindrance to colorectal cancer screening. |