Screening for colorectal cancer in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Should we already perform chromoendoscopy in all our patients?

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (commonly known as IBD) have a greater risk of colorectal cancer than the general population. Therefore, they are included in special programs for screening and follow-up. Chromoendoscopy, which has a high diagnostic yield in the detection of neoplasia, is generally the recommended endoscopy technique. However, this procedure does have some disadvantages (long examination time, need for optimal bowel preparation, specialist training), which increase its cost. How then can we overcome these barriers? First, it is necessary to educate hospital managers and directors of the advantages of chromoendoscopy in patients with IBD. Second, at least one endoscopist per center should be a specialist in the technique. Third, we should train nursing staff in the preparation of the dye. Finally, each examination should be given the time it needs. Even though clinical practice guidelines do not yet recommend the use of virtual imaging techniques such as narrow band imaging, a recent study reported no differences between the two approaches for the detection of tumors. Therefore, we believe that all patients should undergo chromoendoscopy. In the future, centers without access to dyes or where other barriers exist should at least perform narrow band imaging.