ACRIN Trial Seeks Definitive Word on CT Colonography (Virtual Colonoscopy) as Front-Line Screening Tool
March 1, 2005
Contact: Shawn Farley
(703) 648-8936
E-mail: shawnf@acr.org
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World's Largest Virtual Colonoscopy Trial Kicks Off Nationwide in Time for Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
PHILADELPHIA – The American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) is coordinating the largest multicenter study to compare the effectiveness of state-of-the-art CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy) to conventional colonoscopy. The ACRIN National CT Colonography Trial is projected to enroll more than 2,300 patients at 15 sites nationwide during a 1-year accrual period, and may provide the definitive word on CT colonography's role as a colorectal cancer-screening tool.
Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Yet, despite the known benefits of screening, studies indicate that the majority of Americans are not being screened for the disease.
Computerized tomographic colonography, a revolutionary new tool, employs cutting-edge, virtual-reality technology to produce 3-dimensional, "fly through" images that permit a thorough and minimally invasive evaluation of the entire colorectal structure.
"The idea is to provide a more acceptable and high performance examination that will translate into more patients undergoing the test, and consequently a reduction in overall colon cancer mortality," said ACRIN National CT Colonography Trial Principal Investigator C. Daniel Johnson, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "Preliminary study results suggest that CT colonography is highly competitive with other screening tests. However, prior to its widespread clinical use, the test's accuracy must be evaluated in a large, multicenter trial that compares the latest CT colonography technology with the 'gold standard' of colonoscopy," said Johnson.
Study participants must be at least 50 years old, scheduled for a screening colonoscopy, and not had a colonoscopy in the past 5 years. Each study participant will have a CT colonography followed by a colonoscopy on the same day. Participant recruitment is expected to be complete in approximately 1 year.
"The people I know are avoiding colonoscopy simply because it is an invasive procedure. If this study proves to be as effective as colonoscopy, there are going to be a lot of people that I think will be lining up to take the screening," said trial participant Paul Leverentz, of Stillwater, Minn.
Participants scheduled for a screening colonoscopy will be recruited with assistance from gastroenterologists at each participating site.
"The ACRIN trial, we feel, is going to be the study that resolves the unsettled issues. It has extremely high-quality control standards embedded within it. The radiologists are highly trained, tested, the equipment used for the CT colonography is state of the art, and the population tested is truly representative," said David Ahlquist, MD, a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist.
Since most colon cancers develop from polyps, and screening to find and remove these polyps can prevent colon cancer, an enormous opportunity exists to save lives with early detection. However, current standard screening tools all have limitations. Fecal occult blood testing is inexpensive and noninvasive, but research results indicate this test has a relatively poor detection rate. While sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy exams are, at present, more accurate, they have distinct disincentives for patient compliance and carry a slight risk.
According to Stephen F. Sener, MD, president of American Cancer Society, "The ACRIN National CT Colonography Trial will evaluate the effectiveness of this noninvasive screening technology, and thus may help remove a barrier to getting more people 50 and older screened. If more people get screened, more lives will be saved from colorectal cancer."
For further information about the ACRIN National CT Colonography Trial, including a list of participating sites, please visit www.acrin.org.
To arrange an interview with Johnson, another ACR or ACRIN member, or an ACRIN trial participant, please contact ACR Public Relations Manager Shawn Farley at (703) 648-8936 or shawnf@acr.org.
Click here to read the CT Colonography Brochure (PDF).
Click here to view the CT Colonography video clip in broadband.
To see the video using dial-up connection, click here.
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The American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) is a National Cancer Institute Clinical Trials Cooperative Group. It is made up of investigators from over 100 academic and community-based medical facilities in the United States and several international institutions. ACRIN's mission is to develop information, through clinical trials of diagnostic imaging and image-guided therapeutic procedures, that will result in (1) the earlier diagnosis of cancer, (2) allaying the concerns of those who do not have cancer, and (3) improving the length and quality of lives of cancer patients. Further information about ACRIN can be found at www.acrin.org.
The ACR is a national professional organization serving more than 32,000 diagnostic radiologists, radiation oncologists, interventional radiologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and medical physicists, with programs focusing on the practice of radiology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services.