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Colonoscopy misses a substantial fraction of colorectal adenomas and some cancers. To quantify this phenomenon, investigators in Ontario reviewed data from 12,487 colorectal cancer patients who had undergone colonoscopies within 3 years before their diagnoses.
Cancers were considered to be new or missed if they occurred among patients who had colonoscopies 6 to 36 months before diagnosis. Cancers that occurred among patients who had colonoscopies within 6 months of diagnosis were considered to have been detected. Because different fee codes are used in Ontario for each colon segment that is examined successfully, investigators were able to confirm that all colonoscopies included in the study had reached the cancer site.
The rates of new or mi…