Preoperative evaluation of the depth of invasion in rectal carcinoma by transrectal ultrasonography

Objective To evaluate the role of transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) in preoperative evaluation of the depth of invasion in rectal carcinoma.Methods Fifty-eight cases with rectal carcinoma confirmed by pathology underwent TRUS before surgery.Preoperative staging was performed using the T staging system on the basis of TRUS sonogram.The T staging results by TRUS were compared with those of postoperative pathologic staging.Results The preoperative overall accuracy rate of TRUS was 82.76％ (48/58).The diagnostic accuracy rates in T1-T4 stage by TRUS were 94.83％(55/58),86.21％(50/58),86.21％ (50/58) and 98.28％ (57/58).Staging rectal carcinoma with TRUS showed better consistency with postoperative pathologic staging.Conclusions TRUS has a better accuracy in preoperative evaluation of the depth of invasion in rectal carcinoma.TRUS is an important factor in rational treatment. Key words: Rectal neoplasms;  Neoplasm taging;  Endosonography