Narrow band imaging colonoscopy identifies flat dysplastic lesions in ulcerative coliti...( OAK BROOK Ill. November 19 2007 A...),Health

OAK BROOK, Ill. November 19, 2007 A pilot study from researchers at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, found that narrow band imaging (NBI) colonoscopy used in cancer surveillance for ulcerative colitis patients can identify flat dysplastic lesions. The research appears in the November issue of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

Narrow band imaging (NBI) is a novel illumination technology for endoscopy characterized by light with wavelengths of narrow bands that improves the visibility of capillaries, veins and other subtle tissue structures by optimizing the absorbance and scattering characteristics of light. It enhances vasculature within and beneath the mucosa, or lining, of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Random biopsy has been a recommended procedure for cancer surveillance in patients with ulcerative colitis. Some studies have shown that chromoscopy, a dye spraying technique used with colonoscopy, with targeted biopsy identified dysplastic lesions (cell abnormalities that indicate progression to cancer) more frequently than did conventional colonoscopy in long-standing ulcerative colitis.

Our pilot study indicated that the GI mucosal surface structure pattern classified as tortuous, discerned by NBI colonoscopy with a magnifying instrument, may be a clue for the identification of dysplasia in ulcerative colitis, said study lead author Takayuki Matsumoto, MD, Kyushu University. Because NBI colonoscopy is an easily applicable procedure without specific dye, it may be an alternative to magnifying chromoscopy for cancer surveillance in patients with ulcerative colitis. The value of the procedure for surveillance colonoscopy needs to be examined prospectively in a larger number of patients.

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic (ongoing) disease of the colon, or large intestine. The disease is marked by inflammation and ulceration of the
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