New ultrasonic techniques for colorectal cancer imaging

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer and the second cancer-related cause of mortality in the world, with increasing incidence in some developing countries and in the young population. Colonoscopy is the gold standard tool for CRC screening because it can detect and remove precancerous lesions in the same procedure, and its widespread use in people older than 50 years of age may be the cause of declining CRC incidence in this group. However, some precancerous lesions may be missed by colonoscopy and progress to CRC before the next screening, a fact that demonstrates the need to search for new affordable and sensitive imaging techniques. In this minireview we highlight the main ultrasound methods that have been studied experimentally and clinically with the potential to improve CRC detection, diagnosis and follow-up.