Comparative Effectiveness of Virtual and Optical Colonoscopy for CRC Surveillance

A standard recommendation for most patients who have had curative surgery for colorectal cancer is a colonoscopy and a CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis one year after surgery. There is another kind of test, called CT colonography (CTC), that can detect colorectal polyps or cancers and show the contents of the abdomen and pelvis. CTC is done using only a CT scanner, which creates a type of x-ray image of the inside of the body. Regular colonoscopy is done with a small camera physically inserted into the colon. The primary purpose of this research study is to see if CT colonography (CTC) is an acceptable substitute for the combination of optical (regular) colonoscopy and CT scan. This research also assesses which type of testing (CTC or optical colonoscopy) participants prefer. Finally, this research study will compare the costs and outcomes of these procedures.