Colon cancer linked to lesions
A type of colon lesion that was thought to be rare in Americans is actually relatively common and, surprisingly, is much more likely to turn cancerous than the polyps that doctors normally screen for, according to Palo Alto researchers.
Complicating the situation is that the lesions, known as nonpolypoid or flat lesions, are harder to detect during colonoscopy.
Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States, with about 154,000 new cases detected each year and 52,000 deaths. But it has been believed to be almost totally preventable if doctors identify and remove colon polyps -- distinct protuberances -- which often turn into malignant tumors.
The lesions are much harder to detect because they are essentially flat and nearly the same color as the colon walls. If the colon is not thoroughly emptied with strong laxatives, lesions can easily be obscured.
The new findings, reported Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Assn., indicate that gastroenterologists will have to cast a wider net during routine screening of the colon.
Dr. Roy M. Soetikno and his colleagues at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System studied 1,819 veterans, mostly male, who underwent routine colonoscopies. The physicians were specially trained to detect flat lesions.
They found lesions in 9.35% of the men.
Because the lesions lack obvious edges, they are also harder to remove than polyps, researchers said.
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