title: [Prognostic factors and functional imaging in rectal cancer].
abstract: The outcome of treatment for rectal cancer in recent years has been improved by diverse advances in the field of surgery and in neoadjuvant oncologic therapies. Heald's introduction of the concept of the mesorectum as an anatomical unit (total mesorectal excision) in 1982 and the generalization of preoperative radiochemotherapy have improved the prognosis in a significant number of patients. Owing to these advances, it has become necessary for imaging studies to define a series of prognostic factors for tumors, both before and after neoadjuvant treatment, to make it possible to tailor treatment for individual patients with rectal tumors. On the other hand, the advent of functional and molecular imaging techniques has provided a way to study a series of distinctive tumor characteristics in vivo, including the angiogenesis, metabolism, or cellularity of rectal tumors, and these techniques are making a growing contribution to the prognosis, staging, treatment planning, and evaluation of the response to therapy in patients with rectal cancer.
authors: Servicio de Radiodiagnóstico, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, España. roberto.garcia.figueiras@sergas.es
authors: R
authors: R
authors: García Figueiras
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Caro Domínguez
authors: R
authors: R
authors: García Dorrego
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Vázquez Martín
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Gómez Caamaño
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic; D011379:Prognosis; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology*