摘要
In patients with colorectal cancer(CRC),accurate preoperative evaluation is essential for a correct therapeutic plan.Colonoscopy and intravenous contrastenhanced computed tomography(CT)are currently recommended in the preoperative work-up for CRC.Preoperative colonoscopy has some limitations such as misdiagnosis of synchronous cancers in cases of incomplete exploration of the colon and inaccurate tumor localization.Intravenous contrast-enhanced CT successfully documents distant metastases although it sometimes enables unsatisfactory locoregional staging.Computed tomography colonography(CTC)is obtained after gas insufflation of the colon and offers a comprehensive preoperative evaluation in patients with CRC,including a definition of the segmental location of the tumor,presence of synchronous lesions or lack thereof,and fairly accurate locoregional staging.CTC has some limitations,including a lack of biopsy capability,suboptimal sensitivity for synchronous small polyps,and unsatisfactory nodal staging.Bearing in mind these limitations,CTC could be employed as a"one-stop-shop"examination for preoperative assessment in patients with CRC.
In patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), accurate preoperative evaluation is essential for a correct therapeutic plan. Colonoscopy and intravenous contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) are currently recommended in the preoperative work-up for CRC. Preoperative colonoscopy has some limitations such as misdiagnosis of synchronous cancers in cases of incomplete exploration of the colon and inaccurate tumor localization. Intravenous contrast-enhanced CT successfully documents distant metastases although it sometimes enables unsatisfactory locoregional staging. Computed tomography colonography (CTC) is obtained after gas insufflation of the colon and offers a comprehensive preoperative evaluation in patients with CRC, including a definition of the segmental location of the tumor, presence of synchronous lesions or lack thereof, and fairly accurate locoregional staging. CTC has some limitations, including a lack of biopsy capability, suboptimal sensitivity for synchronous small polyps, and unsatisfactory nodal staging. Bearing in mind these limitations, CTC could be employed as a “one-stop-shop” examination for preoperative assessment in patients with CRC.
