Chromoendoscopy for Ulcerative Colitis Surveillance

Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) are at increased risk for colon cancer. Current guidelines recommend periodic surveillance colonoscopy in individuals who fulfill certain high-risk criteria. Endoscopists must perform a high number of biopsies (over 33 per patient) in order to increase the yield of such procedures. Chromoendoscopy (CE) has the ability to identify subtle lesions that are otherwise missed by standard endoscopy. Whether CE can replace standard colonoscopy in the surveillance of patients with UC is unknown. Comparison: both standard biopsies and targeted biopsies will be obtained during colonoscopy from patients with UC who are candidates for surveillance colonoscopy. The yield of the two methods will be compared based on the number of biopsies required to identify one dysplastic (precancerous) lesion.