Recent advances in diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer

There are several methods to detect colon cancer in asymptomatic people; questionnaire, fecal occult blood test, barium enema study, endoscopy and so on. In our study, patients with colon cancer were easily differentiated from normal subjects by analyses of questionnaire responses, but early cancer was not differentiated well. Immunological fecal occult blood test was enough to screen out cancer correctly. Contrast barium enema and colonoscopy have been necessary to diagnose colon cancer and other lesions. Fine lesions 2-3 mm in diameter can be diagnosed by the skillful double contrast method and more diminutive lesions by the dyeing and magnifying colonoscopy. Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) can provide useful information for the diagnosis of cancer. At present, EUS provides information concerning the extension of colorectal cancer with considerable reliability. The video endoscope system with the CCD chip is electronically transmitted to a video processor for display by a television monitor. Application of a computer at the level of image processing is expected to open a new field in endoscopic diagnosis.