Glossary and abbreviations
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Clinical practice guidelines for surveillance colonoscopy > Glossary and abbreviations
Abbreviations[edit source]
| Abbreviation | Term |
| AN | Advanced neoplasia (advanced adenoma or colorectal cancer) |
| ASP | Advanced serrated polyp |
| AGA | American Gastroenterological Association |
| ACPGBI | Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland |
| BMI | Body mass index |
| BPPS | Boston bowel preparation scale |
| BSG | British Society of Gastroenterology |
| CRC | Colorectal cancer |
| CCRTGE | Conjoint Committee for the Recognition of Training in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy |
| CA | Conventional adenoma |
| DNA | Deoxyribonucleic acid |
| DALM | Dysplasia associated lesion mass |
| EMR | Endoscopic mucosal resection |
| ESD | Endoscopic submucosal dissection |
| EPoS | European Polyp Surveillance trials |
| ESGE | European Society for Gastroenterology |
| FICE | Fujinon intelligent chromoendoscopy |
| GESA | Gastroenterological Society of Australia |
| HGD | High grade dysplasia |
| HRA | High risk adenoma |
| HDL | High-density lipoprotein |
| HPP/HP | Hyperplastic polyp |
| ID | Indefinite dysplasia |
| IBD | Inflammatory bowel disease |
| KRAS | Kirsten rat sarcoma |
| LSL | Laterally spreading lesion/s |
| LGD | Low grade dysplasia |
| LRA | Low risk adenoma |
| MP | Malignant polyp |
| MA | Metachronous adenoma |
| MAA | Metachronous advanced adenoma |
| MAN | Metachronous advanced neoplasia |
| MN | Metachronous neoplasia |
| MMR | Mismatch repair |
| NHMRC | National Health and Medical Research Council |
| NPS | National Polyp Study |
| NAA | Non-advanced adenoma |
| OC | Optical colonoscopy |
| PEG | Polyethylene glycol |
| PICO | Population, intervention, comparison, outcome |
| PCP | Primary care physicians |
| PSC | Primary sclerosing cholangitis |
| RR | Relative risk |
| RANZCR | Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists |
| SP | Serrated polyp |
| SES | Socioeconomic status |
| SIR | Standardised incidence ratio |
| SMR | Standardised mortality ratio |
| STAI-S | State Trait Anxiety Inventory |
| SMI | Submucosal invasion |
| SCENIC | Surveillance for colorectal endoscopic neoplasia detection and management in inflammatory bowel disease patients: International Consensus recommendations |
| SEER | Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results |
| TSA | Traditional serrated adenoma |
| TP53 | Tumour suppressor p53 |
| UC | Ulcerative colitis |
| UK | United Kingdom |
| USMTF | US Multi-Society Task Force |
| USA | United States of America |
| WLE | White light endoscopy |
| WASP | Workgroup serrAted polypS and Polyposis |
| WHO | World Health Organization |
Glossary terms[edit source]
| Term | Definition |
| Abdominoperineal resection | An operation for rectal cancer. This involves removing part of the colon, rectum and anus, and creating a permanent colostomy. |
| Absolute risk | The risk a subject has for developing the tested disease over a stated time period. |
| Adenocarcinoma | A type of cancerous tumour that forms from glandular structures in epithelial tissue. |
| Adenoma detection rate (ADR) | The proportion of individuals undergoing a complete screening colonoscopy who have one or more adenomas, or polyps, detected. Variously defined according to context but most often defined as the proportion of patients aged 50 and over having screening colonoscopy found to have at least one adenomatous polyp. |
| Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC) | A multifunctional tumour suppressor gene. Mutations in this gene are responsible for familial adenomatous polyposis and contributes to many sporadic colorectal cancers. |
| Adjuvant therapy | A treatment given with or shortly after another treatment to make it more effective. This usually refers to surgery followed by chemotherapy or radiotherapy. |
| Advanced adenoma (AA) | An adenoma that measures 10mm or more in size. Includes adenomatous polyps greater than or equal to 10 mm in size or with a significant villous component or with high-grade dysplasia. |
| Anterior resection | A surgical procedure to remove cancer in the rectum with the bowel being re-joined to leave a functioning anus. |
| Biopsy | The removal of a small sample of tissue from the body for examination under a microscope to help diagnose a disease. |
| Bowel cancer | Cancer of the large bowel; also known as colorectal cancer, colon cancer or rectal cancer. |
| Bowel preparation | The process of cleaning out the bowel before a test, scan or operation to allow the doctor to see the bowel more clearly. |
| Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) | A protein that may be found in the blood of a person with colorectal cancer. |
| Chemoprophylaxis | Administration of a medication or drug to prevent disease. |
| Colectomy | The surgical removal of all or part of the colon. The affected areas of the colon are cut out and the two ends are joined back together. Colectomies are named for the part removed. They include: right and left hemicolectomies and transverse, sigmoid, subtotal and total colectomies. |
| Colon | The main part of the large bowel, which absorbs water and electrolytes from undigested food (solid waste). Its four parts are the ascending colon, transverse colon, descending colon and sigmoid colon. |
| Colonoscopy | An examination of the large bowel using a camera on a flexible tube, which is passed through the anus. |
| Colorectal | Referring to the large bowel, comprising the colon and rectum. |
| Confidence interval (CI) | A measure that quantifies the uncertainty in measurement. When reported as 95% CI, it is the range of values within which we can be 95% sure that the true value for the whole population lies. |
| Confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) | An endoscopy procedure that uses a specialised endoscope capable of visualising the mucosal layer of the colon at very high magnification. |
| Consensus-based recommendation | A recommendation formulated in the absence of quality evidence, after a systematic review of the evidence was conducted and failed to identify admissible evidence on the clinical question. |
| CT colonography | Also known as virtual colonoscopy, a medical imaging procedure that uses low dose radiation computerised tomography (CT) scanning to obtain an interior view of the colon (the large bowel) that is otherwise only seen with a more invasive procedure such as colonoscopy where an endoscope is inserted into the rectum and passed through the entire colon. |
| CT scan | A computerised tomography (CT) scan, in which x-ray equipment is used to create detailed digital images, or scans, of areas inside the body. |
| Distant metastasis | Cancer that has spread from the original (primary) tumour to distant organs or distant lymph nodes. |
| Electronic chromoendoscopy (EC) | An endoscopic procedure using a specialised endoscope that provides a detailed contrast enhancement image of the musical surface of the colon, and includes NBI, FICE or i-SCAN. |
| Evidence-based recommendation | A recommendation formulated after a systematic review of the evidence, indicating supporting references. |
| Faecal occult blood test | A test that can detect microscopic amounts of blood in stools. The most common type of FOBT is the immunochemical FOBT (iFOBT), which directly detect haemoglobin using antibodies specific for the globin moiety of human haemoglobin. |
| Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) | An autosomal dominant inherited condition in which numerous polyps form mainly in the colon. |
| Familial syndromes | Genetic disorders in which inherited genetic mutations in one or more genes predispose a person to developing cancer, particularly at an early age. |
| First degree relative (FDR) | An individual’s full siblings, parents or children. |
| Flexible sigmoidoscopy | A procedure to examine the inner lining of the rectum and lower portion of the colon using a flexible tube, usually a colonoscope (unlike the colonoscopy that examines the entirety of the colon). The tube is approximately 60 cm long, has a small light and a camera attached at the tip of the tube. |
| Full spectrum endoscopy (FUSE) | An endoscope with a viewing angle of 330°. |
| Functional gastrointestinal disease (FGID) | Also known as functional gastrointestinal disorders. A group of bowel disorders which are characterised by persistent and recurring gastrointestinal symptoms in the absence of demonstrable organic pathology. |
| General practitioner (GP) | A medical professional who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education to a wide range of patients. |
| Hazard ratio (HR) | A measure of how often a particular event happens in one group compared to how often it happens in another group, over time. In cancer research, hazard ratios are often used in clinical trials to measure survival at any particular moment in a group of patients who have been given a specific treatment or a placebo. |
| Imaging | Using scans, including nuclear medicine, to create images of the interior of a body for clinical analysis and medical intervention. |
| Incidence | An epidemiological term reporting number of new cases in a population within a specified period. |
| Interval cancer (IC) | A cancer whose presence is diagnosed in the time between scheduled screening tests or surveillance procedures. |
| Laparoscopic approach | A procedure where small multiple incisions are made to perform an operation, rather than making a large open incision. |
| Local recurrence | The reappearance of cancer at a site that was previously treated and responded to therapy. |
| MAPK pathway | A chain of proteins in the cell that communicates a signal from a receptor on the surface of the cell to the DNA in the nucleus. |
| Metabolic syndrome | Metabolic syndrome is a collection of conditions that often occur together and increase the risk of diabetes, stroke and heart disease. The main components of metabolic syndrome include obesity, high blood pressure, high blood triglycerides, low levels of HDL cholesterol and insulin resistance. |
| Metastatic | Cancer that has spread from the primary site of origin (where it started) into different area(s) of the body. |
| mut-L homolog 1 (MLH1) | A gene commonly associated with Lynch syndrome and functions in repairing DNA mismatches. |
| Narrow band imaging (NBI) | A specialised type of endoscopy that uses specific blue and green wavelengths of light to enhance visualisation of the mucosal layer of the colon. |
| National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) | An Australian screening program that aims to reduce illness and death from bowel cancer through early detection or prevention of the disease. |
| Negative predictive value (NPV) | The probability that a subject with a negative screening test result truly does not have the condition for which they are being tested. |
| Odds ratio (OR) | A comparison of the odds (probability) of something happening in one group with the odds of it happening in another. |
| Pathology | A medical specialty that determines the cause and nature of diseases by examining and testing body tissues, for instance from laboratory examination of samples of body tissue. |
| Peri-operative | Measures or interventions used at or around the time of an operation to improve patient outcomes. |
| Polyp | A small growth protruding from a mucous membrane, such as the lining of the bowel. |
| Polypectomy | The removal of polyps from the bowel. |
| Positive predictive value (PPV) | A measure for the probability that a subject with a positive screening result truly has the disease for which they are being tested. |
| Practice point | A recommendation on a subject that is outside the scope of the search strategy for the systematic review, based on expert opinion and formulated by a consensus process. |
| Proctocolectomy | A surgical procedure to remove the colon and rectum. |
| Randomised controlled trial (RCT) | A study in which people are allocated at random (by chance alone) to receive one of several clinical interventions. One of these interventions is the standard of comparison or control. |
| Rectal endoscopic ultrasound | An imaging procedure where a probe is inserted into the rectum and high frequency sound waves (ultrasound waves) are generated to look for abnormalities in the rectum and nearby structures. |
| Rectum | The final section of the large bowel, ending at the anus. |
| Second degree relative (SDR) | Someone who shares 25% of a person’s genes, such as uncles, aunts, grandparents, half-siblings |
| Villosity | The state of being villous, a histopathological feature of some tubular adenomas. Villous adenoma is a type of polyp found in the colon or rectum that appear as a cauliflower-like mass. |