One in three adenomas could be missed by white-light colonoscopy - findings from a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: White light (conventional) colonoscopy (WLC) is widely used for colorectal cancer screening, diagnosis and surveillance but endoscopists may fail to detect adenomas. Our goal was to assess and synthesize overall and subgroup-specific adenoma miss rates (AMR) of WLC in daily practice.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and grey literature on studies evaluating diagnostic WLC accuracy in tandem studies with novel-colonoscopic technologies (NCT) in subjects undergoing screening, diagnostic or surveillance colonoscopy. Information on study design, AMR overall and specific for adenoma size, histology, location, morphology and further outcomes were extracted and reported in standardized evidence tables. Study quality was assessed using the QUADAS-2 tool. Random-effects meta-analyses and meta-regression were performed to estimate pooled estimates for AMR with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) and to explain heterogeneity.

Results: Out of 5,963 identified studies, we included sixteen studies with 4,101 individuals in our meta-analysis. One in three adenomas (34%; 95% CI: 30-38%) was missed by WLC in daily practice individuals. Subgroup analyses showed significant AMR differences by size (36%, adenomas 1-5 mm; 27%, adenomas 6-9 mm; 12%, adenomas ≥ 10 mm), histology (non-advanced: 42%, advanced: 21%), morphology (flat: 50%, polypoid: 27%), but not by location (distal: 36%, proximal: 36%).

Conclusions: Based on our meta-analysis, one in three adenomas could be missed by WLC. This may significantly contribute to interval cancers. Our results should be considered in health technology assessment when interpreting sensitivity of fecal occult blood or other screening tests derived from studies using WLC as "gold standard".