Efficacy of capillary pattern type IIIA/IIIB by magnifying narrow band imaging for estimating depth of invasion of early colorectal neoplasms

BACKGROUND Capillary patterns (CP) observed by magnifying Narrow Band Imaging (NBI) are useful for differentiating non-adenomatous from adenomatous colorectal polyps. However, there are few studies concerning the effectiveness of magnifying NBI for determining the depth of invasion in early colorectal neoplasms. We aimed to determine whether CP type IIIA/IIIB identified by magnifying NBI is effective for estimating the depth of invasion in early colorectal neoplasms. METHODS A series of 127 consecutive patients with 130 colorectal lesions were evaluated from October 2005 to October 2007 at the National Cancer Center Hospital East, Chiba, Japan. Lesions were classified as CP type IIIA or type IIIB according to the NBI CP classification. Lesions were histopathologically evaluated. Inter and intraobserver variabilities were assessed by three colonoscopists experienced in NBI. RESULTS There were 15 adenomas, 66 intramucosal cancers (pM) and 49 submucosal cancers (pSM): 16 pSM superficial (pSM1) and 33 pSM deep cancers (pSM2-3). Among lesions diagnosed as CP IIIA 86 out of 91 (94.5%) were adenomas, pM-ca, or pSM1; among lesions diagnosed as CP IIIB 28 out of 39 (72%) were pSM2-3. Sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy of the CP type III for differentiating pM-ca or pSM1 (<1000 microm) from pSM2-3 (>or=1000 microm) were 84.8%, 88.7 % and 87.7%, respectively. Interobserver variability: kappa = 0.68, 0.67, 0.72. Intraobserver agreement: kappa = 0.79, 0.76, 0.75 CONCLUSION Identification of CP type IIIA/IIIB by magnifying NBI is useful for estimating the depth of invasion of early colorectal neoplasms.