Rectal electrical bio-impedance spectroscopy in the detection of colorectal anomalies associated with cancer

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide. Tests available for screening this cancer have low sensitivity or are challenging and costly to implement. Based on the concept of field cancerization, or carcinogenic field effect, the possibility of early detection of cancer by electrical bioimpedance spectroscopy measurements on the rectum was studied. For this research, seventy-seven subjects who attended the clinic for total colonoscopy were examined, and readings were taken at eight frequencies with an electrical bioimpedance spectroscopy probe. Four measurements were taken from the rectum of each subject, with the electrical probe being introduced into the rectum through an anoscope, before a total colonoscopy. An inverse model was used to obtain Cole-Cole parameters for each electrical bioimpedance spectra. Two results were the more prominent in this research; firstly, the field cancerization effect was observed and secondly, a significative correlation between rectal electrical bioimpedance and abnormalities associated with cancer was found (p-value = 0.002). (paper)