Private MD News

Remote cancer testing may help underserved areas

Category: Colon

Colon cancer is among the fastest growing forms of the disease in the world. Experts say that improved cancer testing may help lower the rates of the problem, especially among residents of medically underserved areas.

A recent study conducted by researchers at the American Roentgen Society found that virtual colonoscopies may help more residents of rural areas receive cancer testing that could potentially detect a problem.

For the study, doctors trained workers at remote healthcare institutions in the proper method for collecting samples. Workers in larger urban hospitals then used teleradiology to examine the samples.

Researchers found that 92 percent of the samples collected were able to be examined remotely, delivering accurate results.

"Optical colonoscopy in many rural areas is limited. Availability of computed tomography colonography permits access to a robust method of colorectal screening for rural patients," said Arnold Friedman, who led the investigation. "Our results show that CTC can be introduced with minimal effort to rural undeserved communities, and then interpreted remotely."