The role of computed tomography in screening for cancer.

Recent technical developments have revolutionized computed tomographic (CT) capabilities, and therefore its clinical applications. Multidetector CT (MDCT) allows scanning of the entire body within a few minutes. Over 60 million CT examinations were performed last year in the United States and Western Europe. Many emergency room physicians use it as a virtual physical examination. Its applications to early cancer detection have been controversial. Targeted CT screening for widely prevalent cancers, namely lung and colon, has been advocated in the literature. Combining the two, a whole-body screening CT scan might be offered to appropriately selected, high-risk populations.