Colon polyps and cancer.

The role of endoscopy, in particular colonoscopy, clearly is paramount in the screening, diagnosis, and prevention of colorectal cancer. In preparation for writing this "state-of-the-art" review on colon polyps and cancer, a PubMed literature search linking the topic with endoscopy yielded an enormous number of papers published in peer-reviewed journals just in the past 12 months. I have selected a few of these to highlight that I believe are most germane to current issues of risk stratification, screening and surveillance, prevention, and the premalignant potential of different types of adenomas detected by endoscopy. Several of these papers address the advantages and limitations of direct colonoscopy screening for colorectal neoplasia, and discuss the emerging role of virtual colonoscopy screening.