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MRI and CT for the Preoperative T and N Staging of Rectal Cancer

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Multidisciplinary Treatment of Colorectal Cancer

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Abstract

Local staging of rectal cancer is becoming increasingly important as more treatment options become available. A number of modalities are used for this purpose, including endoscopic ultrasound, CT and MRI. Endoscopic ultrasound may be useful for distinguishing early T-stage tumours. CT has a wider field of view but is limited by poor soft tissue contrast. MRI is able to very accurately assess the relationship of rectal tumours to the mesorectal fascia and so determine whether the circumferential resection margin will be involved following total mesorectal excision. It is therefore the preferred modality for assessing whether patients require downstaging preoperative chemoradiotherapy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Royal Marsden Hospital, Downs Road, Sutton, Surrey, SM2 5PT, UK

    Chris Hunter & Gina Brown

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  1. Chris Hunter
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  2. Gina Brown
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Correspondence to Gina Brown .

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  1. Institute of Regional Health Science, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Gunnar Baatrup

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Hunter, C., Brown, G. (2015). MRI and CT for the Preoperative T and N Staging of Rectal Cancer. In: Baatrup, G. (eds) Multidisciplinary Treatment of Colorectal Cancer. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06142-9_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06142-9_18

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