A clinical retrospective study of the detectable ability of the advanced colorectal cancer by plain abdominal multislice CT

We evaluated the efficacy of plain CT for diagnosis of advanced colorectal cancer retrospectively. During 2 years between December 1999 and November 2001, 26 patients with advanced colorectal cancer underwent abdominal CT scan (Toshiba ASTEIONMULTI). The patients had received no special preparation for CT scan except for avoiding breakfast. The sensitivity of CT scan in detecting tumors was 76.9%. Moreover, cancers originated in the cecum, ascending colon and descending colon were all detectable by CT. Ninety-two percent of cancers occupying more than 2/3 of circumference of the colonic wall were detectable. These evidences may indicate that plain CT is useful for detecting colorectal cancers with little patients' burden as well as providing information about their extension and metastasis, when colorectal cancer is suspected by patients' symptom. (author)