Usefulness of preoperative CT colonography for colon cancer.

BACKGROUND: Computed tomographic colonography (CTC) is reported to be feasible for screening of colorectal polyps; however, its efficacy in preoperative workup remains unknown. This study was done to define our CTC methodology and assess CTC's potential for preoperative examination in patients with colon cancer.

METHODS: A total of 86 colon cancer patients underwent CTC prior to laparoscopic colectomy in our department from February 2014 to November 2015. The location of primary colon cancer determined by CTC was compared with that confirmed during the surgery. CTC was performed just after preoperative colonoscopy; for a small colon cancer, we performed clipping during colonoscopy to enhance CTC detectability. We classified wall deformities and compared them with the pathological T stage.

RESULTS: CTC accurately located all 87 primary colon cancers prior to surgery. No patient experienced complications associated with CTC. The deformity classification correlated significantly with the pathological T stage (p < 0.001, Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric tests). CTC provided reconstructed images depicting the feeding artery of the primary colon cancer; feeding artery information obtained by CTC facilitated precise lymph node dissection.

CONCLUSION: CTC appears to be a feasible and useful preoperative examination modality for colon cancer treatment.