Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States with 130,200 newly diagnosed cases and 56,300 deaths in 2000. 152,000 newly diagnosed cases and 57,000 deaths in 2002 are predicted (American Cancer Society statistics). Since it takes up to 10 years for a colonic polyp to grow to a size with a high likelihood of invasive cancer, timely and accurate patient screening with subsequent polyp removal can prevent over 90% of malignant colorectal cancers.

As a result, recommendations have been made for large scale screening programs for persons beginning at the age of 50 (American Cancer Society/ACS). Colorectal cancer screening guidelines given in the journal Gastroenterology in 1997 suggest that the screening modality must be safe, available, acceptable to the patient and cost effective. In March, 2000, the ACS recommended fecal occult blood testing every year, optical sigmoidoscopy every 5 years, or complete evaluation of the colon with air contrast barium enema or optical colonoscopy every 10 years. More recently published articles in the New England Journal of Medicine in July, 2000 showed that both air contrast barium enema and sigmoidoscopy are not very effective screening tests because they both miss more than 50% of colonic polyps, while sigmoidoscopy would miss more than 52% of proximal cancers. Thus optical colonoscopy is now the only established effective method of colon cancer screening. Polyps can be removed and thereby decrease the chance of subsequent development of colon cancer. It however, does not satisfy the previously mentioned screening criteria in that many patients and physicians avoid it, it is expensive, carries a risk of perforation and even death.