The role of endorectal ultrasonography in preoperative staging of rectal cancer.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this paper is to enlight the role of endorectal ultrasonography in the preoperative staging of rectal cancer. METHODS: 83 patients having rectal cancer and candidates to surgery were studied with endorectal ultrasonography with a probe at a frequency up to 7.5 MHz probe. Eighteen patients were diagnosed with a cancer at A stage, 38 with a neoplasia at B stage and 37 at C stage. RESULTS: In all patients the examination revealed an involvement of the rectal muscular tunica. Sixtyseven patients presented mesorectal invasion, 17 patients showed the involvement of adjoining structures, and 27 patients presented pathological lymph nodes. CONCLUSIONS: Endorectal ultrasonography allows to distinguish patients having rectal cancer limited to the mucosa or invading sub-mucosa regions from those having a more indepth invasion. Apart from this, endorectal ultrasonography is not able of discriminate reactive lymph nodes from metastatic ones.