Analysis of brush cytology in colorectal cancer diagnosis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The benefits of brush cytology in the diagnosis and management of colorectal cancer
IRAS ID
178935
Contact name
Iain Andrew Hunter
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Hull & East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
n/a, n/a
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 2 months, 3 days
Research summary
Colorectal cancer is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. Cancers typically begin as polyps and then develop over time into malignancies. While polyps can be managed endoscopically, cancers require surigcal resection. Biopsies are routinely used worldwide to try to identify whether a colonic lesion is a cancer or a polyp. However, it can be difficult to determine by biopsy alone whether a large polyp also contains a malignant component with sensitivity rates of about 60-90%. Cytology is widely used in the diagnosis of cancers such as lung cancer but is not routinely used in colorectal cancer. Our institution uses brush cytology as an adjunct to biopsy to improve diagnosis accuracy as this allows for cells to be taken from a wider area of a lesion than possible with biopsy alone. This study aims to compare the accuracy of brush cytology and biopsy in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer by comparing their results with the final histologic evaluation of the resected specimen.
REC name
North West - Haydock Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/NW/0613
Date of REC Opinion
20 Jul 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion