Colon: The Japan NBI Expert Team (JNET) Classification

In 2006, Dr. Yasushi Sano developed narrowband imaging (NBI) and simultaneously proposed Sano classification, which was the world’s first NBI classification [1]. NBI observation became widely recognized as an essential method for colorectal tumor diagnosis. In 2009, an international collaborative research group called the Colon Tumor NBI Interest Group (CTNIG), led by experts from Japan (Yasushi Sano, Shinji Tanaka), France (Ponchon T), the United States (Rex DK, Soetikno RM), and the United Kingdom (Saunders BP), proposed the NICE classification for non-magnified NBI observation. NICE classification is helpful but has some weaknesses, such as not having a high percentage of high confidence. Hence, a novel magnifying classification was needed to provide more accurate differential diagnoses, linking appropriate treatment strategies. Therefore, the Japan NBI Expert Team (JNET) conducted a web-based prospective study to validate the magnifying NBI findings (principal investigator: Yasushi Sano) and finally proposed the JNET classification in 2014 (◘ Fig. 1) [2, 3].