LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - These four tablets still leave the virtual colonoscopy's probe-assisted CT scan clean enough to search for any pre-cancerous polyps or other diseases potentially lying in wait in your colon and rectum.

Colonoscopies, in which a tiny camera is inserted into the body to examine the bowels, and virtual colonoscopies, in which a CT scan is used to provide three-dimensional imaging of the colon and rectum, are commonly performed for early detection of colon cancer.

It appears that one of the most unpleasant parts of the process has been eliminated, Dr. C. Daniel Johnson says, chair of the department of radiology at Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

"Our hope is that this will make people less anxious and more likely to get screened and will ultimately result in fewer deaths from colorectal cancer," Johnson said in a press release.

The development of the new protocol was based on a study co-by Dr. Johnson and published in Abdominal Imaging journal last year. The study has found that the new four-tablet procedure worked as well as the standard liquid laxative for virtual colonoscopies. The new protocol is not intended for standard colonoscopies because the cleansing requirements between the two procedures differ.

Virtual colonoscopy was found to be highly accurate for detection of intermediate and large polyps. Because the majority of patients will not have a polyp, no further workup is necessary. Only the 12 percent of patients identified with a polyp during a colonography would then need to have a colonoscopy. Because most colon cancer arises from preexisting polyps, detection and removal of these lesions can help eradicate it.

Dr. Johnson says that how people get screened should be an individual decision, based on discussions with their medical providers.

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