Steering Committee Meet To Plan Launch Of First-Ever Annual Pan-Asian Computerised Tomographic Colonography (CTC) Congress

Main Category: Colorectal Cancer
Also Included In: Public Health;  MRI / PET / Ultrasound
Article Date: 14 Dec 2007 - 2:00 PDT

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Leading radiology experts from China, Korea, Japan and the UK convened as a steering committee group in London to draw up plans for the first ever pan-Asia CTC Congress. Congresses and workshops specialising in CTC already take place annually in Europe and in North America. The rising prevalence of colorectal cancer in Asia, necessitates a meeting in Asia to ensure the exchange of scientific and professional information about colorectal cancer screening, and to encourage increased adoption of CTC by Asian radiologists. Medicsight PLC, a UK-headquartered, research driven, leading developer of computer-aided detection (CAD) and image analysis software for the medical imaging market will provide an educational grant to facilitate logistical support for the inaugural meeting.

According to Professor Steve Halligan, University College Hospital, London, and Chair of the steering committee: "There are a great number of healthcare professionals in Asia who are not being given the training opportunities that are available in Europe and the USA. Their involvement in these educational initiatives could ultimately provide patients with better access to cutting edge diagnostic technologies."

The Asia-Pacific region contributes almost half of the world's cancer deaths. Colorectal cancer is the world's second most prevalent cancer and is the cause of approximately 75,000 deaths annually in Eastern Asia1 (China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia) and this figure is rising. Among individuals diagnosed with colorectal cancer, survival is highly dependent on how advanced the disease is at diagnosis. Five-year survival is 90% if the disease is diagnosed while confined by the bowel wall but only 65% once it has spread to the lymph nodes and 9% if it has spread throughout the body2. Most colorectal cancers arise from precursor lesions in the large intestine called 'adenomatous polyps'. Screening is important because it means that adenomatous polyps can be removed before they become cancerous. Screening also detects asymptomatic cancer, which has a better prognosis than symptomatic disease2.

There are a number of colorectal cancer screening tools available, each with advantages and disadvantages. Colonoscopy is considered the gold standard for screening for colon cancer, however data presented at the recent American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) meeting showed that CTC is at least as sensitive as conventional colonoscopy in detecting adenomas of 1 cm diameter or larger3. CTC is a less invasive option and unlike conventional colonoscopy, there is no need for the patient to undergo sedation and the risk of symptomatic colon perforation is much less. According to Dr Stuart Taylor of University College Hospital, London and faculty member of the steering committee "In Asia, a broad Multi-Detector Computerised Tomography (MDCT) infrastructure exists that could support colorectal cancer screening by CTC. This pan-Asia CTC Congress will certainly provide radiologists with the opportunity to be trained in CTC by some of the world's finest specialists and raise awareness of the importance of colorectal cancer screening."

The steering committee, comprising Professor Steve Halligan, UK, Dr Stuart Taylor, Uk, Dr Noriyuki Moriyama, Japan, Dr Gen Iinuma, Japan, Dr Qi Ji, China, Dr Zhou Cheng, China and Dr Se Hyung Kim, Korea, intends that the CTC Asia Congress will promote and showcase state-of-the art CTC practice and research, informing and educating delegates on interpretation and best clinical practice. As well as offering high quality "hands on" training workshops, the congress will encourage research collaboration amongst delegates and help to foster and cement relationships within the Asian radiology and gastroenterology community.

References:

1. Globocan 2002, Cancer Incidence, Mortality and Prevalence, Eastern Asia. http://www-dep.iarc.fr/

2. Smith RA, Mettlin CJ, Eyre H. 31. Cancer Screening and Early Detection. In: D. W. Kufe et al., eds. Cancer Medicine. 6 ed. Hamilton, London: BC Decker Inc, 2003

3. Pickhardt PJ, Choi JR, Hwang I, et al. Computed tomographic virtual colonoscopy to screen for colorectal neoplasia in asymptomatic adults. N Engl J Med 2003;349(23):2191-200

Notes

Medicsight PLC is a UK-headquartered, research driven, leading developer of computer-aided detection (CAD) and image analysis software for the medical imaging market. The CAD software automatically highlights suspicious areas on computerised tomography (CT) scans of the colon and lung, helping radiologists to identify, measure and analyse potential disease and early indicators of disease. Medicsight's computer-aided detection (CAD) software has been validated using one of the worlds largest and most population diverse databases of verified patient CT scan data. Medicsight's ColonCAD™ and LungCAD™ software products are seamlessly integrated with the advanced 3D visualisation workstations of several industry-leading imaging equipment partners. For more information on Medicsight and/or the company's line of products, visit the Company's Web site at http://www.medicsight.com.

About Computer-Aided Detection

With increasingly sophisticated radiological imaging hardware such as Multi-Detector CT scanners, radiologists are facing a growing challenge in the amount of detailed patient image data that they must review for each patient examination. Some CT scan examinations generate as many as 1000 images per patient. Review of this data by the radiologist is not only time-consuming but also prone to error due to reader fatigue. CAD software can help the reviewing radiologist by analysing the image data and automatically highlighting suspicious regions of interest for closer inspection. Without CAD software some potential abnormalities or areas of disease may be overlooked. This is critical for diagnosis and the management of patient outcomes as early detection of disease greatly increases the probability of successful treatment and a positive therapeutic outcome.

About Medicsight's CAD software

Medicsight's ColonCAD™ and LungCAD™ software use an advanced CAD algorithm to analyse CT scans of the colon and lung and automatically highlight suspicious areas that may be indicators of disease. CAD may highlight areas easily overlooked by the reviewing radiologist, such as small lesions or regions that are hidden from view behind folds in the colon or normal structures and surrounding tissue in the lung.

Both CAD products seamlessly integrate with the advanced 3D visualisation platforms of industry-leading imaging equipment partners. The integrated systems provide sophisticated image viewing capabilities, including 3D reconstructed image data, with the added advantage of demonstrating automatic CAD findings to assist clinical end users in the detection and analysis of disease. This allows clinical end users to perform either a 'second read', where CAD findings are displayed to the user after completion of an initial review of the CT scan data, or a 'concurrent read' where CAD findings are displayed during the user's initial review of the original CT scan images.

Since inception, Medicsight has developed close and lasting relationships with some of the world's foremost clinicians in product related areas. This provides the Company with a wealth of clinical expertise and dedicated clinical research to support ongoing product development. Medicsight also collaborates with a number of leading academic institutions and clinical research programmes worldwide to develop the Company's comprehensive database of population diverse verified patient CT scan data, thus allowing Medicsight's products to be validated to the highest possible standards.

About adenomas

An adenoma (sometimes known as a polyp) is a slow-growing benign tumour. This is the most common type of early-stage tumour found in the colon and typically projects into the colon from the wall. Adenomas are routinely removed on identification because of their tendency to become malignant.

[1] World Health Organization: Global cancer rates could increase by 50% to 15 million by 2020 [Internet]. Geneva (Switzerland). Colon cancer. [cited 2007 Dec 13]. Available here.

[2] Globocan 2002, Cancer Incidence, Mortality and Prevalence, Eastern Asia. http://www-dep.iarc.fr/

[3] Smith RA, Mettlin CJ, Eyre H. 31. Cancer Screening and Early Detection. In: D. W. Kufe et al., eds. Cancer Medicine. 6 ed. Hamilton, London: BC Decker Inc, 2003

http://www.medicsight.com