Evaluation of endorectal ultrasound for the assessment of wall invasion of rectal cancer

Abstract

To accurately assess the depth of cancer invasion, endorectal ultrasound was performed using a radial scanner (Aloka, 7.5 MHz) in 145 patients with rectal cancer. High-resolution ultrasound clearly depicted five- or seven-layer echographic structures in the normal rectal wall, and demonstrated cancer as a hypoechoic lesion. These layer structures provided an important feature in determining the depth of cancer invasion. Rectal cancers of 122 patients were examined thoroughly by endorectal ultrasound. In 95 of these patients (77.9 percent), ultrasonic assessment of the depth of cancer invasion as classified in four groups was correct, corresponding accurately to the microscopic findings. Ultrasonography overestimated the depth of cancer invasion in 21 patients, however, and underestimated it in six patients. This study indicated that a cause of the overestimation was inflammatory cell infiltration around cancer, and that one possible cause of underestimation was microscopically minimal invasion of cancer. Although there are certain limitations of endorectal ultrasound, this ultrasound technique will provide valuable information to determine the preoperative staging of rectal cancer.