Tag Archives: Colonoscopy

Medicine, Technology

Colorectal Cancer: ‘Miss Rate’ Lowered 50% Using AI

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“Colorectal cancer is almost entirely preventable with proper screening,” says senior author Michael B. Wallace, M.D., division chair of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the Fred C. Andersen Professor at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. “The substantial decrease in miss rate using AI reassures health care providers on the decreased risk of perceptual errors.”

The most relevant cause of post-colonoscopy colorectal cancer (CRC) is the miss rate of colorectal neoplasia — the rate at which neoplastic lesions are not detected in a screening or surveillance colonoscopy. Some studies suggest that 52% to 57% of post-colonoscopy CRC cases are due to missed lesions at patients’ colonoscopies. It’s estimated that 25% of neoplastic lesions are missed following screening colonoscopy.

Mayo Clinic Gastroenterology and Hepatology, in collaboration with colleagues from around the world, found that using artificial intelligence (AI) in colorectal cancer screening produced a 50% reduction in the miss rate for colorectal neoplasia. Results of the study were published in the July 2022 edition of Gastroenterology.

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Dr. C's Journal, Medicine

Dr. C’s Journal: Types Of Cancer Screening Tests

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There are a number of recommended screening tests for cancer.

Mammography has been shown quite effective in reducing deaths from breast cancer, it is recommended for women ages 40 to 74.

HPV and PAP tests are recommended for cervical cancer screening in women. Testing should begin at age 21 and end at age 65.

Colonoscopy is recommended for colorectal cancer screening for both men and women ages 45 through 75.

HCT, a type of CT, is recommended for heavy smokers at ages 15 to 80.

Where the risks are high, there are other tests not generally recommended for everybody. Tests are available for liver cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, and ovarian cancer where are the risk is high. In women with BRCA1 And BRCA2  mutations, breast MRIs are recommended.

Personally, I get a yearly PSA test, mainly because a good friend, a physician, died within 3 years of prostate cancer when he stopped taking the test.

I also get a skin examination by a dermatologist every six months, because I have a very fair skin, probably caused by the freckle variant of the MC1R gene.

There are a number of symptoms and signs that suggest cancer,  particularly when they don’t go away, such as fatigue, weight loss or gain for no apparent reason; trouble swallowing, nausea, or abdominal pain; swelling or lumps anywhere in the body; cough or hoarseness; unusual bleeding; change in bowel habits; fevers or night sweats; bleeding areas in the mouth. Protracted headaches or vision problems can be worrisome.

In short, any distressing or unusual symptom that doesn’t improve on its own should be watched very carefully, and reported to your doctor; but it is far better to pick them up early with a test or a doctors routine examination than to wait for symptoms to develop.

—Dr. C.

Medicine, Prevention

Procedures: The Benefits Of A Sigmoidoscopy Exam

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A flexible sigmoidoscopy is an exam used to evaluate the lower part of the large intestine (colon). During a flexible sigmoidoscopy exam, a thin, flexible tube (sigmoidoscope) is inserted into the rectum.

A tiny video camera at the tip of the tube allows the doctor to view the inside of the rectum, the sigmoid colon and most of the descending colon — just under the last 2 feet (about 50 centimeters) of the large intestine. If necessary, tissue samples (biopsies) can be taken through the scope during a flexible sigmoidoscopy exam.

Flexible sigmoidoscopy doesn’t allow the doctor to see the entire colon. As a result, flexible sigmoidoscopy alone can’t detect cancer or small clumps of cells that could develop into cancer (polyps) farther into the colon.

Medicine, Men's Health, Women's Health

Patients: The Risks Of Colonoscopies Over 75

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Medicine, Men's Health, Prevention, Videos, Women's Health

Cancer: What Age Should You Get A Colonoscopy?

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According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States. While diagnoses are decreasing in people over the age of 50, there’s been an increase for those who are younger.

For more information on why you should get a colonoscopy and how to schedule yours today, please visit https://cle.clinic/3oqWdy6

Medicine, Men's Health, Prevention, Videos, Women's Health

Procedures: Preparing For A Colonoscopy (Mayo)

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A colonoscopy is an exam used to detect changes or abnormalities in the large intestine, or colon, and rectum. It’s an important exam that’s performed to check for colon cancer. But some would agree that preparing for the colonoscopy is worse than the exam itself.

In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. James East, a gastroenterologist at Mayo Clinic Healthcare in London, explains what patients will need to do to prepare for this exam and how to make it a little easier.

Dr. C's Journal, Medicine, Men's Health, Women's Health

DR. C’S JOURNAL: BENEFITS OF COLONOSCOPIES OVER 50

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Colonoscopy is good preventative medicine for everybody over the age of 50. A video was posted yesterday on colon cancer metastatic to the liver. Although this is treatable, metastatic colon cancer is a miserable condition, markedly lowering quality of life. You are much better off preventing colon cancer then having to deal with it, and in this sense, colonoscopy is a very good trade off.

Colonoscopy is no fun. You have to modify your diet well in advance, and take a magnesium citrate clean out in order to get rid of fecal matter that would prevent proper visualization of your colon. You should get your first colonoscopy at age 50 or earlier depending upon your family history of polyps, colon cancer, and other bowel problems.

In my own case, I had a number of colonoscopies, and nothing serious was discovered. I still think it is a very good idea. Although I never had a colon polyp or cancer discovered, I have recently, at the age of 89, developed bladder cancer of the slowly progressive and non-invasive kind.

The thought occurred to me that getting regular cystoscopies might catch bladder cancer at an earlier stage. I was told by an authoritative Physician that this has previously been tried and not proven to be useful. I also recommend going into a dermatologist regularly to remove actinic keratoses, which have the capability of developing into cancer. I believe you cannot be too vigorous with preventative therapy.

Interestingly, good sleep, diet and exercise are recommended in the prevention of colon cancer. Please refer to the mayo clinic article on colonoscopy for more information.

–Dr. C

Mayo Clinic article

Opinion, PODCASTS, Resources

DOCTORS PODCAST: MEDICAL & TELEHEALTH NEWS (MAR 2)

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A bi-weekly podcast on the latest medical, science and telehealth news.

Medicine, Men's Health, Opinion, Resources, Women's Health

DR. C’S MEDICINE CABINET: THE BENEFITS OF “IRON”

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Iron is the most common element, by weight, on earth, so it should come as no surprise that it has evolved to be an essential component in the mechanism that is life.

The ENERGY of the eukaryotic cell is dependent on the Iron in mitochondria, which are elaborate electron-transfer mechanisms. To quote Nobel Laureate Albert Szent Gyorgyi, “Life is nothing but an electron looking for a place of rest”.

Iron is essential, so it is possible to have too little of it. There is no physiologic pathway to get rid of it and so you can have too much iron in your body, which comprises a disease called Hemochromatosis. Excessive Iron can be TOXIC to the body, and produce damaging free radicals.

Deficiency of iron will produce ANEMIA. Regulation of incoming Iron is the body’s way of keeping excessive Iron out. It is absorbed only in the upper part of the small intestine, and a special protein called Hepcidin can block it from release into the circulation. It is carried through the blood by Transferrin and also Ferritin, which stores the iron that is not in the hemoglobin of RED BLOOD CELLS, the main storehouse of iron.

Blood loss is a common problem which leads to increased Iron requirement, This is reflected in the increase in RDA of Iron in Women during their menstruating years. Colonic Cancer, among other conditions, can also bleed and lead to the anemia of Iron deficiency. This is the reason for Doctors ordering a test for “occult”, or hidden, blood in the stools. My reason for taking Iron is a continuing loss of blood from the small intestine.

I have had multiple colonoscopies and Gastroenteroscopies to rule out cancer and other blood-losing conditions in the lower and upper intestinal tract. The small intestine is the “silent” area to gastroenterologists, and I cannot have the Capsule/camera examination because of my small bowel surgery.

I must take extra iron, and hope that this will be sufficient to keep me from developing anemia again. Green vegetables and red meat are more satisfactory sources, but insufficient for me. I worry a little about the recent finding that Heart Failure has been associated with Ferritin levels below 100 ng./ml.

I struggle to keep mine at 50 ng. by taking 2 tablets of feosol daily and dealIng with the subsequent constipation. An ANNUAL PHYSICAL and laboratory examination is important for the maintenance of health. Enough Iron and blood are important factors for vigorous Well-being. —

–Dr. C.

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