Introduction
The number of colorectal cancer deaths is increasing in the West and in Asian countries.
The adenoma-carcinoma sequence is thought to be one of the main pathways for the development
of colorectal cancers [1]. Therefore, adenomas are resected using endoscopic treatments such as polypectomy,
endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) [2]
[3]
[4]. Colonoscopy is the most effective tool for detecting colorectal adenomas. However,
the polyp miss rate under white light (WL) observation was reported to be 20 – 25 %
[5]. Therefore, narrow-band imaging (NBI; Olympus Medical Co., Tokyo, Japan), flexible
spectral imaging color enhancement (FICE; Fujifilm Co., Tokyo, Japan), and chromoendoscopy
were investigated to determine whether they could improve the polyp detection rate;
however, most of them failed [6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11].
A LASER endoscope system was developed in 2012. There were two modes of narrow-band
imaging observation in that system: blue laser imaging (BLI; Fujifilm Co., Tokyo,
Japan) mode and BLI-bright mode [12]
[13]
[14]
[15]. Previously, we have reported that BLI-bright improved polyp visibility compared
with WL using recorded polyp videos [16]. To make a polyp more visible is considered to be one of the most important factors
related to efficient polyp detection. Recently, new narrow-band light observation,
named linked color imaging (LCI), has been developed for diagnosing chronic gastritis
in the LASER endoscope [17]. It is brighter than BLI-bright and may also improve colorectal polyp detection.
In the present study, we aimed to investigate whether LCI could improve the visibility
of colorectal polyps compared to WL and BLI-bright using endoscopic videos.
Patients and methods
This was a prospective study and was conducted at the Department of Molecular Gastroenterology
and Hepatology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine. We examined consecutive
colorectal polyps diagnosed as neoplastic polyps and captured videos of the polyps
using three modes (LCI, BLI-bright, and WL) with the LASER endoscope system (LL-4450
light source, and VP-4450HD video processor, Fujifilm Co., Tokyo, Japan) from January
2016 to July 2016. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) patients receiving
colonoscopies performed only by one expert (N.Y.) were enrolled to retain video quality;
(2) patients with colorectal polyps diagnosed as neoplastic polyps between 2 mm and
20 mm in size that had been detected through colonoscopy just before ESD with BLI-bright
mode or WL ([Fig. 1]).
Fig. 1 A flow diagram of this study.
Diagnosis of neoplastic polyps was performed with BLI magnification according to previous
reports [12]
[13]
[18]. Thus, two or three patients were enrolled consecutively only on Wednesdays (our
ESD day). In each patient, the number of recorded polyps was limited to a maximum
of three on account of patient fatigue during the recording of videos. Three videos
in WL, BLI-bright, and LCI mode were recorded for each polyp ([Fig. 1]). Each video included a range of 3 – 5 cm proximal to the polyp to 3 – 5 cm distal
to the polyp (a 5- to 10-second clip). Three videos were recorded for a polyp under
the same conditions if possible about the presence of fluid, the amount of insufflation,
and the withdrawal speed. Polyp visibility was evaluated using a published polyp visibility
score [16] ranging from Score 4 to Score 1. Score 4 indicates excellent visibility; it is easy
to detect a polyp. Score 3 indicates good visibility. If an endoscopist looks in the
same direction as a polyp in the monitor, it is easy to detect the polyp. Score 2
indicates fair visibility. It is hard to detect the polyp without careful observation.
Score 1 indicates poor visibility ([Fig. 2], [Video 1]). We excluded polyps with noticeable variations of recorded conditions (air, speed,
fluid, etc.). Additionally, videos were excluded when more than two polyps were present
in the same video. Recurrent lesions after a previous EMR or T2 – T4 colorectal cancers
were also excluded.
Fig. 2 Examples of polyp visibility score. Score 4, excellent visibility; score 3, good
visibility; score 2, fair visibility; score 1, poor visibility.
Video 1: A polypoid neoplastic polyp (adenoma), size 3 mm, on the left-sided colon
(sigmoid colon). WL: score 2. LCI score 4. BLI-bright: score 4.
The polyp locations were divided into three parts: the right-sided colon (from the
cecum to the transverse colon), the left-sided colon (from the descending colon to
the sigmoid colon), and the rectum. With regard to morphology, polyps were divided
into polypoid and non-polypoid according to the Paris classification [19]. The size of a polyp was defined by its maximum diameter and was calculated in accordance
with the size of the snares.
All of the sets of videos taken during the study period were collected. The evaluation
was performed by four endoscopists who had not viewed any of these videos before this
study. Of the four endoscopists, two were classified as non-experts (had performed
< 5000 colonoscopies and 10 – 30 withdrawing colonoscopies with BLI-bright and LCI)
and two were classified as experts (had performed ≥ 5000 colonoscopies and 300 withdrawing
colonoscopies with BLI-bright and LCI) according to a previous report [9]. All of the videos were viewed in a randomized order. For example, Video number
1, a LCI video of polyp A, was followed by Video number 2, which was a WL video of
polyp B. Each endoscopist assigned a polyp visibility score to each polyp. Scores
for each mode (WL, BLI-bright and LCI) were compared and the ratios of polyps with
poor visibility (scores 1 and 2) for experts and non-experts in each mode were examined.
In addition, the mean polyp visibility scores of WL, LCI and BLI-bright mode in terms
of various clinical characteristics including location (right-sided or not right-sided),
size (≥ 10 mm or < 10 mm), histology (adenoma + intramucosal cancer or sessile serrated
adenoma and polyp (SSA/P)), morphology (polypoid or non-polypoid), and preparation
(good or poor) were analyzed. With respect to preparation level, good preparation
was defined as local Boston bowel preparation score (BBPS) 2 or 3, and poor preparation
was defined as local BBPS 0 or 1. Moreover, the inter-observer agreements of polyp
visibility score for experts and non-experts in each mode were analyzed for objective
evaluation of polyp visibility scores.
With regard to bowel preparation, patients followed a low-residue diet and were given
10 mL sodium picosulfate 1 day before the examination. All patients also received
1.0 L of a highly concentrated polyethylene glycol solution with ascorbic acid (MoviPrep;
Ajinomoto Pharma Co., Ltd, Tokyo, Japan) in the morning on the day of the examination
according to our previous report [20].
All patients provided written informed consent to participate in this study. This
study was conducted in accordance with the World Medical Association Helsinki Declaration.
It was also approved by the institutional review board and the ethics committees of
Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine. In addition, this study was a subgroup analysis
of a study registered in the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical
Trials Registry (UMIN-CTR) as number UMIN000013770.
Histological diagnosis
The tumor specimens were obtained by polypectomy and EMR. Thereafter, they were fixed
with 10 % formalin and evaluated histologically. Histological diagnosis was performed
by two clinical pathologists (M. K. and A. Y.) according to the World Health Organization
classification [21]. Thus, polyps were divided into neoplastic or non-neoplastic categories based on
the histological diagnosis. SSA/P were defined as neoplastic lesions in this study.
LASER endoscope and LCI mode
The LASER endoscope system used in this study has been described in previous reports
[12]
[13]. In brief, this system uses a semiconductor laser as the light source and has a
narrow-band light observation function called BLI and LCI. It has two types of laser
with 410 nm and 450 nm wavelengths. There are two modes for BLI, i. e. BLI mode and
BLI-bright mode. BLI mode is useful for acquiring magnified mucosal surface vessels
and structure. BLI-bright mode is brighter than BLI mode and it is expected to be
useful in tumor detection. However, the weakness of BLI is that the residual liquid
becomes reddish. LCI mode is a novel mode and is based on the image captured by light
similar to BLI-bright mode; however, further post image processing is applied so that
the strong red-tint color becomes more reddish and the pale red-tint color becomes
paler. This difference between red color and pale color makes a lesion more noticeable
and LCI is brighter than BLI-bright mode ([Fig. 3]). In addition, the residual liquid was not reddish in LCI mode compared to BLI-bright
mode.
Fig. 3 Case presentation. a A polypoid neoplastic polyp (adenoma), 3 mm on the left-sided colon (sigmoid colon).
WL: score 2. b BLI-bright: score 4. c LCI score 4. d A non-polypoid polyp (SSA/P), 8 mm in size on the right-sided colon (transverse colon),
WL: score 2. e BLI-bright: score 3. f LCI: score 3.
Statistical assessment
In a pilot study on the visibility of 33 colorectal polyps by a single expert endoscopist,
LCI achieved superior polyp visibility scores compared with WL in 15 polyps (15/33;
45.4 %). Using a sign test, the α error was 5 % and β error was 20 %. Thus, the minimum
sample size was calculated to be 25. The pilot study was performed by one expert and
subgroup analysis was designed for location, polyp size, etc. Thus, we decided to
use a sample size of 100. The Mann-Whitney U test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test with Bonferroni correction, and the chi-squared test
(SPSS version 22.0 for Windows, IBM Japan, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) were used in this study.
Continuous variables such as patient age and tumor size were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney
U test. The four phases of the evaluation (polyp visibility scores 1 – 4) were used
as ordered-categorical variables, and comparisons between methods used the Wilcoxon
signed-rank test with Bonferroni correction. Inter-observer agreement for polyp visibility
scores was determined by the quadratic-weighted kappa coefficient of Cohen. A P value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.
Results
In total, videos from 110 consecutive polyps (WL, LCI, and BLI-bright) were recorded
and nine
polyps were excluded according to the decided criteria ([Fig. 1]).
Finally, a total of 101 polyps (mean polyp size 9.0 ± 8.1 mm) in 66 patients (303
videos) were investigated in this study ([Table 1]). Forty-seven polyps (46.5 %) were polypoid and 55 polyps (54.5 %) were in the right-sided
colon. Ninety-four polyps (93.1 %) were neoplastic ([Table 1]).
Table 1
Clinical characteristics of 101 colorectal polyps.
Number of polyps
|
101
|
Number of patients
|
66
|
Sex (male/female)
|
45/21
|
Age, mean ± SD (range), years
|
67.7 ± 9.8 (39 – 85)
|
Polyp size, mean ± SD (range), mm
|
9.0 ± 8.1 (2 – 20)
|
Location, (right-sided: left-sided: rectum), n (%)
|
55:29:17 (54.5:28.7:16.8)
|
Morphology (polypoid or non-polypoid), n (%)
|
47:54 (46.5:53.5)
|
Histopathological diagnosis
|
|
7 (6.9):94 (93.1)
|
|
7:20:51:23
|
Right-sided: from the cecum to the transverse colon; left-sided: from the descending
colon to the sigmoid colon; SSA/P: sessile serrated adenoma/polyp; HP: hyperplastic
polyp; Ad: adenoma; Tis: intramucosal cancer.
The mean polyp visibility scores of LCI mode (2.86 ± 1.08) were significantly higher
than those
of WL (2.53 ± 1.15, P < 0.001) and BLI-bright (2.73 ± 1.47, P = 0.041)
( [Table 2]). For non-experts, the polyp visibility scores of LCI (2.83 ± 1.07) were higher
than WL (2.51 ± 1.14, P < 0.001) and BLI-bright (2.70 ± 1.12, P = 0.047). On the other hand, for experts, the polyp visibility scores of LCI (2.83 ± 1.07)
were higher than WL (2.58 ± 1.19, P < 0.001), but not significantly higher than BLI-bright (2.78 ± 1.17, P = 0.30) ( [Table 2]).
Table 2
Mean polyp visibility scores of colorectal polyps in WL, LCI, and BLI-bright mode
for all endoscopists, experts, and non-experts.
|
WL
|
LCI
|
BLI-bright
|
P value
|
All
|
2.53 ± 1.15
|
2.86 ± 1.08
|
2.73 ± 1.47
|
WL vs. LCI P < 0.001
WL vs. BLI-bright P = 0.005
LCI vs. BLI-bright P = 0.041
|
Experts
|
2.58 ± 1.19
|
2.87 ± 1.12
|
2.78 ± 1.17
|
WL vs. LCI P < 0.001
WL vs. BLI-bright P = 0.01
LCI vs. BLI-bright P = 0.30
|
Non-experts
|
2.51 ± 1.14
|
2.83 ± 1.07
|
2.70 ± 1.12
|
WL vs. LCI P < 0.001
WL vs. BLI-bright P = 0.006
LCI vs. BLI-bright P = 0.047
|
WL: white light; LCI: linked color imaging; BLI: blue laser imaging.
The ratios of poor visibility (score 1 or 2) of WL, BLI-bright, and LCI for experts
and non-experts were analyzed ([Fig. 4]). For the experts, the mean ratio of poor visibility was significantly lower in
LCI (16.8 + 18.8: 35.6 %) than in WL mode (24.8 + 24.8: 49.6 %) (P = 0.015). For the non-experts, the mean ratio of poor visibility in LCI (15.8 + 17.8:
33.6 %) was also significantly lower than that in WL (25.7 + 24.8: 50.5 %) (P = 0.046).
Fig. 4 Graphic for derivation of the ratios of poor polyp visibility scores (1 or 2) in
LCI, BLI-bright, and WL modes.
The mean polyp visibility scores of WL, LCI and BLI-bright mode in terms of various
clinical
characteristics are shown in [Table 3]. The polyp visibility scores for LCI mode were significantly higher than those for
WL for all of the factors. With respect to the comparison between BLI and WL, the
polyp visibility scores of BLI were not higher than WL in right-sided location, < 10 mm
size, SSA/P histology, and poor preparation. For those clinical characteristics, the
visibility scores of lesions with right-sided location, SSA/P histology, and poor
preparation were significantly higher with LCI than with BLI ([Fig. 5]).
Table 3
Mean polyp visibility scores for each clinical characteristic in WL, LCI and BLI-bright
mode.
|
|
|
|
|
P value
|
|
Number of patients
|
WL
|
LCI
|
BLI
|
WL vs LCI
|
WL vs BLI
|
LCI vs BLI
|
Right-sided
|
55
|
2.22 ± 1.04
|
2.61 ± 1.07
|
2.32 ± 1.08
|
< 0.001
|
0.12
|
< 0.001
|
Not right-sided
|
46
|
2.91 ± 1.17
|
3.15 ± 1.03
|
3.32 ± 0.99
|
< 0.001
|
< 0.001
|
0.18
|
≥ 10 mm
|
38
|
2.65 ± 1.15
|
3.00 ± 1.21
|
2.82 ± 1.13
|
< 0.001
|
0.04
|
0.03
|
< 10 mm
|
63
|
2.46 ± 1.15
|
2.67 ± 1.13
|
2.68 ± 1.47
|
< 0.001
|
0.07
|
< 0.001
|
Ad, Tis
|
74
|
2.68 ± 1.17
|
3.06 ± 1.04
|
2.91 ± 1.13
|
< 0.001
|
< 0.001
|
0.009
|
SSA/P
|
20
|
2.08 ± 1.03
|
2.20 ± 0.99
|
2.00 ± 0.94
|
0.04
|
0.43
|
0.02
|
Polypoid
|
47
|
2.56 ± 1.22
|
2.81 ± 1.15
|
2.69 ± 1.22
|
< 0.001
|
0.02
|
0.06
|
Non-polypoid
|
54
|
2.51 ± 1.10
|
2.90 ± 1.03
|
2.76 ± 1.06
|
< 0.001
|
0.03
|
< 0.001
|
Poor preparation
|
23
|
2.42 ± 1.13
|
2.72 ± 1.11
|
2.31 ± 1.09
|
0.004
|
0.33
|
< 0.001
|
Good preparation
|
78
|
2.55 ± 1.19
|
2.89 ± 1.09
|
2.79 ± 1.18
|
< 0.001
|
0.03
|
< 0.001
|
WL: white light; LCI: linked color imaging; BLI: blue laser imaging; Ad: adenoma;
Tis: intramucosal cancer; SSA/P: sessile serrated adenoma/polyp.
Fig. 5 Case presentation. a A non-polypoid neoplastic polyp (SSA/P) in poor preparation, size 8 mm on the right-sided
colon (ascending colon). WL: score 2. b BLI-bright: score 2. Residual liquid became reddish and, when viewing the lesion
from the oral side, the colon was dark. c LCI score 3. Residual liquid was yellowish and, when viewing the lesion from the
oral side, the colon was bright. d A non-polypoid neoplastic polyp (adenoma) in poor preparation, size 2 mm on the rectum.
WL: score 2. e BLI-bright: score 3. f LCI: score 3.
With respect to the analysis of inter-observer agreement, the kappa values for the
four endoscopists (expert A vs expert B, non-expert A vs non-expert B) were calculated
in LCI, WL, and BLI-bright mode. The kappa values for experts were 0.87 for LCI, 0.91
for WL, and 0.84 for BLI-bright. The kappa values for non-experts were 0.86 for LCI,
0.97 for WL, and 0.78 for BLI-bright mode.
Discussion
LCI mode strengthens the color contrast between normal mucosa and colorectal lesions
and it is brighter than other narrow-band light observations such as BLI and NBI.
Thus, the color of the lesion becomes reddish and the surrounding mucosa becomes whitish.
An earlier study reported an improvement in the visibility of diffuse redness of gastric
mucosa in Helicobacter pylori induced gastritis with LCI [22]. Theoretically, reddish neoplastic lesions such as adenoma and cancer are detected
in LCI mode according to the increase in reddish color in vascular rich areas of those
lesions. On the other hand, whitish neoplastic lesions such as SSA/P are detected
according to the increase in whitish color in vascular poor areas of those lesions.
In addition, the residual liquid is not reddish compared to BLI and NBI modes. Generally,
poor preparation is detected in 20 – 25 % of all colonoscopies [23]
[24]. In those cases, NBI and BLI are not effective due to the reddish color of the residual
liquid; however, LCI is thought to have increased efficacy in those cases. In our
study, LCI showed higher polyp visibility scores than WL and BLI-bright in poor preparation
cases.
Our previous study on polyp visibility between WL and BLI-bright showed that, for
non-experts, the polyp visibility scores for all clinical characteristics (location,
size, histology, and morphology) in BLI-bright mode were significantly higher than
those in WL. On the other hand, for experts, the scores for right-sided polyps, non-neoplastic
polyps (including SSA/P), and polypoid polyps in BLI-bright mode were not higher than
those in WL. One of the possible reasons for this was because the brightness of BLI-bright
might not be sufficient for the wider right-sided colon. In the present study, the
mean polyp visibility scores of LCI mode were higher than for WL for all clinical
polyp parameters (location, size, histology, morphology). Compared to BLI-bright,
those were higher in right-sided location and SSA/P histology, which were weak points
of BLI-bright. Generally, right-sided polyps and non-polypoid polyps are sometimes
difficult to be detected with WL, especially for non-experts because of poor polyp
visibility. However, LCI enables us to increase polyp visibility in polyps with various
clinical characteristics and detect those polyps more easily than with WL for both
experts and non-experts.
Polyp detection is related to many factors such as lesion characteristics (location,
morphology, size, and bowel preparation) and endoscopist’s experience, especially
insertion and withdrawal techniques, and polyp visibility. Among these factors, we
believe that improvement in polyp visibility is one of the most important factors
for improving polyp detection and the adenoma detection rate. In this study, only
a small segment of video from the whole colonoscopic observation was used and we could
control many factors including withdrawal speed and bowel preparation. We have previously
reported video studies similar to this study [16]
[25]. One of our studies showed that the previous NBI system (EVIS LUCERA Spectrum system)
did not increase polyp visibility and a more recent NBI system (EVIS LUCERA Elite
system) increased polyp visibility [25]. Those findings are consistent with the failure of NBI studies on polyp detection
[6]
[7]. We believe that this kind of video study is closer to a real colonoscopy than one
using endoscopic images. In addition, the randomized video method is easier to be
performed than a real polyp detection study. We believe that if this kind of video
study is performed as a pre-study to evaluate the polyp visibility of a new modality,
it is useful in deciding whether a subsequent polyp detection study should be performed.
In this video study, LCI showed better polyp visibility than BLI-bright and WL. Thus,
we believe that LCI is a good indication for a further polyp detection study.
There were some limitations to our study. Only patients receiving ESD in our center
were enrolled in this study and all videos evaluated were recorded by the same expert
endoscopist. Thus, there might be selection bias. This study was a single-center study
and was performed by the review of videos to examine polyp visibility. Our final goal
is to improve polyp detection, but the improvement in polyp visibility may not affect
polyp detection in clinical cases because polyp detection is influenced by various
factors other than polyp visibility.
In conclusion, our study showed that LCI improved polyp visibility compared to WL
for both expert and non-expert endoscopists. It is useful for improving polyp visibility
in any location and with any size, morphology, histology and preparation level.