Techniques of virtual dissection of the colon based on spiral CT data

Colorectal cancer represents the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States (Gazelle et al. 2000). In addition, colorectal cancer is responsible for about 11% of all new cancer cases per year (Gazelle et al. 2000). Five-year prognosis is about 90% for patients with localized disease compared to 60% if there is a regional spread and a drop to 10% in patients with distant metastasis (Gazelle et al. 2000). In the field of medicine there is a widely accepted opinion that most colorectal cancers arise from pre-existent adenomatous polyps (Johnson 2000). Therefore, different societies, such as the American Cancer Society, have proposed screening for colorectal cancer (Byers et al. 1997; Winawer et al. 1997). Today, different options exist for detection of colorectal cancer, including digital rectal examination, fecal occult blood testing, flexible and rigid sigmoidoscopy, barium enema and its variants, colonoscopy and recently computed tomography or magnetic resonance-based virtual colonography (Gazelle et al. 2000).