A prospective study on the development of operative procedures influenced by preoperative assessment of transrectal ultrasound for rectal cancer

Objective To investigate the influence of preoperative assessment of transrectal ultrasound(TRUS)for rectal cancer on the development of operative procedures.Methods This randomized controlled study compared the preoperative assessment(group A)by TRUS with Clinical Stage System(CS stage)(group B)in influence on selection of operative procedures.Moreover,the comparison between TRUS preoperative stage and CS stage corresponding pathological stage was conducted.Results Ninety-nine patients were enrolled which were randomized into group A(n=49)and B(n=50),and there were no significant differences between the two groups in the baseline characteristics.The differences in accuracy were statistically significant(P0.01)between group A(91.8%),of which uT stage was conducted by TRUS,and group B(48.0%)assessed by CS stage.Statistically significant improvement(P0.05)in accuracy of proposing operative procedures for rectal cancer was observed in group A(93.9%)and group B(76.0%).Conclusion TRUS evidently transcends CS stage at the accuracy of operative assessment for rectal cancer,and remarkably enhances the veracity of proposing operative procedures.Therefore,TRUS is valuable in further preoperative assessment guiding the selection of operative procedures for rectal cancer surgery.