Colonoscopia virtual: importância na prevenção e diagnóstico do câncer colorretal

Abstract

Introduction: Colorectal cancer, a disease that affects the large intestine, has become more widespread in recent years, with the main cause being linked to individual lifestyle habits, highlighting the importance of methods that broaden the range of prevention. Computed tomography colonography or virtual colonoscopy works as a screening method with evaluation of the colon exposed in three-dimensional images. Objective: To evaluate the importance of virtual colonoscopy in the imaging diagnosis of colorectal cancer. Methods: The Google Scholar, CAPES Journal, and PubMed databases were used to search for literature using the descriptors colonography, colonography computed tomographic, virtual colonoscopy, and colonography with computed tomography in Portuguese and English published between 2020 and 2025. Results: Computed tomography colonography is of utmost importance when conventional colonoscopy presents technical difficulties in performing the procedure. The high sensitivity of virtual colonoscopy to polyps measuring 5 to 9 mm and to the visualization of extracolonic lesions was also highlighted. Conclusion: Computed tomography colonoscopy presented several advantages over virtual colonoscopy, highlighting the lack of sedation and non-invasiveness during the procedure. Therefore, it still has limitations such as the impossibility of performing biopsies and lesion resections.