CT Colonography and Colorectal Carcinoma: Current Trends and Emerging Developments

Colorectal carcinoma is the third most malignant and second leading cause of death from cancer. The cruelty of this entity is that it takes decades to be symptomatic and is known to be detected late in its timeline by a screening technique. The fatality of this carcinoma only means heightened importance of screening guidelines to be laid down and strict follow-ups by the healthcare providers. A novel method, a potential competitor that could now replace the present screening techniques for colorectal carcinoma, is computed tomographic colonography (CTC) or virtual colonoscopy. Though it first came into existence in 1994, this method is yet to be deeply studied and scrutinized for it to be the next benchmark modality. This review has mainly focused on the various features of CTC. It is contrasted against the gold standard colonoscopy for its superiority, efficacy, cost-effectiveness, patient logistics, and role in detecting extra-colonic lesions. The main focus would be laid on CTC being a screening modality. The review also emphasized why there is a need for the current healthcare providers to incorporate this modality into their practice widely. Although much has been said about CTC and its various aspects of cost-effectiveness, about it being replaced or supplemented for cancer screening, a collaborative effort has to be made by both the fields of radiology and gastroenterology to investigate the outcomes of this not so new technique in daily practice and to avoid misinterpretation of the results due to lack of skill and proficiency.