Context Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Prevention has focused on the detection and removal of polypoid neoplasms. Data are limited on the significance of nonpolypoid colorectal neoplasms (NP-CRNs). Objectives To determine the prevalence of NP-CRNs in a veterans hospital population and to characterize their association with colorectal cancer. Design, Setting, and Patients Cross-sectional study at a veterans hospital in California with 1819 patients undergoing elective colonoscopy from July 2003 to June 2004. Main Outcome Measures Endoscopic appearance, location, size, histology, and depth of invasion of neoplasms. Results The overall prevalence of NP-CRNs was 9.35% (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 8.05%-10.78%; n=170). The prevalence of NP-CRNs in the subpopulations for screening, surveillance, and symptoms was 5.84% (95% CI, 4.13%-8.00%; n=36), 15.44% (95% CI, 12.76%-18.44%; n=101), and 6.01% (95% CI, 4.17%-8.34%; n=33), respectively. The overall prevalence of NP-CRNs with in situ or submucosal invasive carcinoma was 0.82% (95% CI, 0.46%-1.36%; n=15); in the screening population, the prevalence was 0.32% (95% CI, 0.04%-1.17%; n=2). Overall, NP-CRNs were more likely to contain carcinoma (odds ratio, 9.78; 95% CI, 3.93-24.4) than polypoid lesions, irrespective of the size. The positive size-adjusted association of NP-CRNs with in situ or submucosal invasive carcinoma was also observed in subpopulations for screening (odds ratio, 2.01; 95% CI, 0.27-15.3) and surveillance (odds ratio, 63.7; 95% CI, 9.41-431). The depressed type had the highest risk (33%). Nonpolypoid colorectal neoplasms containing carcinoma were smaller in diameter as compared with the polypoid ones (mean [SD] diameter, 15.9 [10.2] mm vs 19.2 [9.6] mm, respectively). The procedure times did not change appreciably as compared with historical controls. Conclusion In this group of veteran patients, NP-CRNs were relatively common lesions diagnosed during routine colonoscopy and had a greater association with carcinoma compared with polypoid neoplasms, irrespective of size.

A combination of targeted probes and new imaging technologies provides a powerful set of tools with the potential to improve the early detection of cancer. To develop a probe for detecting colon cancer, we screened phage display peptide libraries against fresh human colonic adenomas for high-affinity ligands with preferential binding to premalignant tissue. We identified a specific heptapeptide sequence, VRPMPLQ, which we synthesized, conjugated with fluorescein and tested in patients undergoing colonoscopy. We imaged topically administered peptide using a fluorescence confocal microendoscope delivered through the instrument channel of a standard colonoscope. In vivo images were acquired at 12 frames per second with 50-microm working distance and 2.5-microm (transverse) and 20-microm (axial) resolution. The fluorescein-conjugated peptide bound more strongly to dysplastic colonocytes than to adjacent normal cells with 81% sensitivity and 82% specificity. This methodology represents a promising diagnostic imaging approach for the early detection of colorectal cancer and potentially of other epithelial malignancies.

Endoscopic imaging is an invaluable diagnostic tool allowing minimally invasive access to tissues deep within the body. It has played a key role in screening colon cancer and is credited with preventing deaths through the detection and removal of precancerous polyps. However, conventional white-light endoscopy offers physicians structural information without the biochemical information that would be advantageous for early detection and is essential for molecular typing. To address this unmet need, we have developed a unique accessory, noncontact, fiber optic-based Raman spectroscopy device that has the potential to provide real-time, multiplexed functional information during routine endoscopy. This device is ideally suited for detection of functionalized surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) nanoparticles as molecular imaging contrast agents. This device was designed for insertion through a clinical endoscope and has the potential to detect and quantify the presence of a multiplexed panel of tumor-targeting SERS nanoparticles. Characterization of the Raman instrument was performed with SERS particles on excised human tissue samples, and it has shown unsurpassed sensitivity and multiplexing capabilities, detecting 326-fM concentrations of SERS nanoparticles and unmixing 10 variations of colocalized SERS nanoparticles. Another unique feature of our noncontact Raman endoscope is that it has been designed for efficient use over a wide range of working distances from 1 to 10 mm. This is necessary to accommodate for imperfect centering during endoscopy and the nonuniform surface topology of human tissue. Using this endoscope as a key part of a multiplexed detection approach could allow endoscopists to distinguish between normal and precancerous tissues rapidly and to identify flat lesions that are otherwise missed.optical | colonoscopy E arly detection is the most effective means of improving prognosis for many patients who have cancer; consequently, the development of new point-of-care diagnostic strategies with sufficient sensitivity and specificity for early cancer detection is critical for effective disease management. Raman spectroscopy has emerged as an excellent analytical tool for multiparameter molecular analyses with both high sensitivity and multiplexing capabilities. These unique features offer the potential for early diagnosis, which could have a significant impact on the survival rates of patients with cancer.Raman spectroscopy is based on an inelastic light-scattering phenomenon that provides detailed chemical information, but biomedical applications have been limited by very low signalto-noise ratios. Most photons are elastically scattered when they interact with matter, where the scattered photons maintain the same energy and wavelength as the incident photons. However, a very small fraction of light is inelastically scattered, meaning that the linearly inelastic scattered photons usually lose energy, resulting in a longer wavelength. This inelastic scattering of light was first observed in 1928 by...

On the basis of a retrospective analysis of 124 patients, endoscopic therapy of WON by using LAMS is safe and effective. Creation of a large and sustained cystogastrostomy or cystoenterostomy tract is effective in the drainage and treatment of WON.