Abstract
Mass screening for colorectal cancer using the fecal occult blood test is effective, but the death rate for colorectal cancer has not been established yet based on this screening method. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a new, higher-precision screening method. Colonoscopy has superior sensitivity toward colorectal cancer, but the procedure involved is troublesome, and hence difficult to apply. We evaluated the performance of barium enemas as an examination method in mass screenings. The depiction ranges of double-contrast images were examined. Barium enema studies depicting the posterior and anterior walls of the colon yielded better accuracy than colonoscopy, but the precision decreased at narrow depiction ranges. In conclusion, the standardization of the barium enema procedure is important for obtaining accurate colorectal lesion findings.
