In this episode, we were lucky enough to have Dr. Clarence Wong. Dr. Wong is an interventional gastroenterologist at the University of Alberta. He gave us a masterclass on the approach to large polyp. We also talked about the development of screening guidelines in Alberta, and way to improve the quality of colonoscopies on a very practical level.

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Links:

1. Is 45 the new 50 in colorectal cancer screening? https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33077453/

2. https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20201027/uspstf-expands-colorectal-cancer-screening-recommendation-to-include-adults-age-45-years#:~:text=All%20adults%20should%20begin%20to,initiation%20at%20age%2045%20years.

3. Managing difficult polyps: techniques and pitfalls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3959925/

4. Geographic variation in the provider of screening colonoscopy in Canada: a population-based cohort study. http://cmajopen.ca/content/6/1/E126.full.

5. Alberta CRC Screening Guidelines: https://actt.albertadoctors.org/CPGs/Lists/CPGDocumentList/colorectal-cancer-screening-guideline.pdf

6. DOPS Program in BC for Colon Screening: http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/screening/Documents/COLON_GuidelinesManual-DOPSCandidateResourceBooklet.pdf

7. CAG SEE course: https://www.cag-acg.org/education/see-program

Dr. Wong is a gastroenterologist and Associate Professor with the Division of Gastroenterology at the University of Alberta. He is an Attending Staff gastroenterologist at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, University of Alberta Hospital and the Cross Cancer Institute. He holds a BSc in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Calgary and a MD degree from the University of Alberta. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology having completed medical residency at McMaster University in Hamilton and the University of Alberta. During his training, Dr. Wong was awarded research fellowships from both the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research and the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology for translational research in Experimental Oncology. He has also completed a fellowship in endoscopic ultrasound and is a therapeutic endoscopist focusing on gastrointestinal cancers. He is the medical director of the Edmonton Endoscopic Ablation Program which treats Barrett’s esophagus and early upper gastrointestinal tract cancers. He is also the provincial medical director of the Alberta Colorectal Cancer Screening program (ACRCSP). His research interests include clinical and laboratory innovations in colon cancer screening and Barrett’s esophagus. He received funding from AHFMR and Alberta Innovates. Dr. Wong is a Past-President of the Alberta Society of Gastroenterology. He has received regional and national teaching awards for excellence in medical education including Endoscopy & Teacher of the Year from the UofA GI Residency Training Program, the University of Alberta Medical Students’ Association Teacher of the Year Award, the Canadian Association of Medical Education (CAME) Certificate of Merit, and the University of Alberta Rutherford Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.