A much anticipated federal study of an X-ray alternative to the uncomfortable colonoscopy has confirmed its efficiency at detecting most cancers, although it has some drawbacks.
More people may be persuaded to get screened for colon cancer, because Medicare is currently considering paying for this lower cost, less invasive option. Some experts believe that the new procedure may increase the current 50 percent screening rate for a cancer that is the country’s second biggest killer among cancers. Lung cancer is the number one killer right now.
In the new study, which is the largest of its kind, the “virtual colonoscopy” found nine out of ten people who had cancers and large growths that were spotted by regular colonoscopies.
Unfortunately there were also imperfections. One of them was that radiologists sometimes read the X-rays wrong, causing them to find polyps that were not there. This led to unneeded follow-up testing.
The real usefulness of the X-ray test may be in finding who really needs a regular colonoscopy, because it was better at ruling out cancer than at discovering it, according to the  September 18 report in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The standard screening for colon cancer is the colonoscopy, in which a long, thin tube supplied with a tiny video camera is pushed through the large intestine to view the lining. A great benefit to this method is that any growth detected can be removed during the procedure.
A colonoscopy usually does require general anesthesia and a missed day of work. Liquids or pills are also used to clean out the bowels.
CT colonography, also known as virtual colonoscopy, was the focus of the study. It is a detailed X-ray of the colon that is cheaper, quicker and much easier on the patient than normal colonoscopies.
As with the colonoscopy, it also requires the bowel to be cleansed, but uses something that can be potentially dangerous-radiation.
Colonoscopies cost up to $3000 compared to the X-ray test at $300 to $500. Although most insurers are not covering it so far, Medicare is contemplating it.
The colon cancer rate has dropped 42 percent in the U.S. since 1960. As mentioned earlier, it still remains the second highest cancer killer.
The point of screening, recommended each year beginning at age 50, is to find growths before they become cancerous.
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