Colonoscopes Beat Barium in Detecting Intestinal Polyps

Fiber-optic colonoscopes have proved far superior to old-fashioned barium enemas in detecting potentially cancerous growths in the colon, according to researchers from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. In a 10-year, side-by-side study of old technology vs. new in 580 patients, barium enemas missed almost half of the polyps most likely to develop into cancer, while fiber-optic colonoscopes found virtually all of them, the team reports in today’s New England Journal of Medicine.

With barium enemas, the patient’s colon is flushed with a solution containing the chemical and then X-rayed. A colonoscope is a long, flexible tube that is inserted in the rectum. It projects video images from inside the large intestine and and has pincers that can remove polyps. The newer test is generally viewed as more accurate, but earlier studies had failed to prove the point clearly.

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--Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II