Study Of Endorectal Ultrasonography In Preoperative Staging Of Rectal Cancer

Purpose:To evaluate the learning curve and accurate rate of endorectal ultrasonography in preoperative staging of rectal carcinoma.Methods:319 patients in Shanxi Province Tumour hospital with rectal adenocarcinoma underwent endorectal ultrasonography evaluation from January 2007 to November 2009. We compared the endorectal ultrasonography staging with the pathology findings based on the surgical specimens in 319 patients who had surgery(8 by transanal excision,311 by radical proctectomy) without adjuvant preoperative chemoradiation. RESULTS:Overall accuracy in assessing the level of rectal wall invasion was 67 percent, with 16 percent of the tumors overstaged and 17 percent understaged. Overall accuracy in assessing nodal involvement in the 311 patients treated with radical surgery was 66 percent, with 11 percent of the tumors overstaged and 23 percent understaged. Staging accuracy tends to improve with experience,but it reaches a plateau after 80 cases.Conclusion:After the radiologist handles it,the accuracy of endorectal ultrasonography is be an important tool in assessing the depth of tumor invasion.