We all know that colon polyps increase the risk of colon cancer -- the bigger the polyp, the greater the risk. But a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that certain flat or sunken spots in the colon (called "nonpolypoid lesions") deserve more attention than they've been getting.
American doctors tend to think that nonpolypoid lesions aren't as dangerous as polyps that spring from the lining of the colon, ripe for picking during a colonoscopy. However, the JAMA study found that while nonpolypoid lesions are less common, they're more dangerous. When researchers examined the colons of about 1,800 military veterans, they found nonpolypoid lesions in about 9% of them. The kicker is the lesions were five times more likely than polyps to contain cancerous or precancerous tissue.
As you might imagine, it's harder for doctors to see nonpolypoid lesions because they're flat against the colon or even sunken into it. That's one reason why colonoscopy prep is so important. The cleaner your colon, the easier it is to see any growths or funny-looking flat areas. It's also important for doctors to take their time during a colonoscopy. About a year ago, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study that determined that doctors who took the most time during a colonoscopy found 10 times as many polyps as doctors who zipped through the procedure.
The next time you get a colonoscopy, please make sure you get your colon as clean as you can before arriving at the doctor's office. Once you're there, ask your doctor to take at least six minutes to withdraw the colonoscope -- the amount of time recommended by the U.S. Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer.
Source:
Soetikno, R. and Kaltenbach, T. "Prevalence of Nonpolypoid (Flat and Depressed) Colorectal Neoplasms in Asymptomatic and Symptomatic Adults." Journal of the American Medical Association 299.9 (5 Mar. 2008): 1027-1035. Accessed 5 Mar. 2008 [http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/299/9/1027].
