title: The role of endorectal ultrasonography in preoperative staging of rectal cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation - Urology, Andrology and Kidney Transplantation Unit, University of Bari, Italy. mimmomartino@libero.it
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Martino
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martino
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Balena
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spilotros
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Catalano
authors.forename: Silvano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Palazzo
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Valerio
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011300:Preoperative Care; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D012007:Rectum; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional / Q000379:methods