Peter Lance, Patricia A Thompson
Arizona Cancer Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
DOI: 10.4103/1477-3163.79674
ABSTRACT
With more than 145,000 new cases and almost 50,000 deaths each year in men and women combined, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common visceral cancer and the second most common of all fatal cancers in the United States. [1] Colorectal adenomas (CRAs) are benign neoplasms and the precursors to most CRCs, [2] with the serrated adenoma (SA) now recognized as another premalignant lesion, particularly in the proximal (right) colon. [3] CRC prevention has focused on the detection and removal of polypoid neoplasms. However, non-polypoid, flat or depressed colorectal neoplasms are relatively common lesions and have a greater association with carcinoma compared with polypoid neoplasms. [4],[5] In the belief that identification and removal of CRAs and early-stage CRCs will prevent many deaths from the disease, immense effort and resources have been devoted to CRC screening; [6] currently, periodic colonoscopy is regarded as the most effective although not the only acceptable screening modality. [6],[7] However, the pre-eminence of colonoscopy for CRC prevention has recently been challenged.Read More…