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A recent study in the Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology journal suggests that, CCE sensitivity for polyps compared to other noninvasive colorectal cancer screening strategies.

 

Colon capsule endoscopy (CCE) is a noninvasive and painless technique used to explore the colon without sedation or air insufflation. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the accuracy of CCE in detecting colorectal polyps.

The study involved database search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and SCOPUS from 2006 to 2009, for the terms “colon capsule” and “Pillcam colon”; also included abstracts. Studies were included that focused on detecting colorectal polyps with CCE and that were verified using within-subject reference colonoscopy. The risk of bias within each study was ascertained according to Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy in Systematic Reviews recommendations. The per-patient sensitivity and specificity were calculated for polyps of any size and for significant findings. Forest plots were produced based on random-effect models. The risk of bias across studies was assessed using the interstudy heterogeneity statistic, meta-regression, and the Egger test.

Eight studies provided data on 837 patients; the prevalences of polyps and significant findings were 57% and 27.4%, respectively. CCE sensitivity for polyps of any size and significant findings were 71% and 68%, respectively. CCE specificity for polyps of any size and significant findings were 75% and 82%, respectively. High levels of heterogeneity inter-study heterogeneity, 75% were not detected. Moderate heterogeneity partially was explained by the different design of individual studies. CCE identified 16 of the 21 cancerous lesions detected by colonoscopy (pooled sensitivity, 76%)

However, CCE specificity is likely to be underestimated because reference colonoscopy examination results are blinded.

Source: Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology Journal