How Should Imaging Direct/Orient Management of Rectal Cancer?

Bhoday, Jemma BSc, MBBS, MRCS
Balyasnikova, Svetlana PhD
Wale, Anita BMBS, FRCR
Brown, Gina MBBS, MRCP, FRCR

¹Department of Radiology, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust NIHR BRC and Imperial College London, Sutton, Surrey, United Kingdom

Address for correspondence Gina Brown, MBBS, MRCP, FRCR, Department of Radiology, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust NIHR BRC and Imperial College London, Downs Road, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5PT, United Kingdom, [email protected]

Issue Theme New Horizons in Rectal Cancer Management;

Guest Editor: Rodrigo Oliva Perez, MD, PhD

Clinics in Colon and Rectal Surgery 30(5):p 297-312, November 2017. | DOI: 10.1055/s-0037-1606107

Abstract

Modern rectal cancer management is dependent on preoperative staging, and radiological assessment is a crucial part of this process. Imaging must provide sufficient information to guide preoperative decision-making that is reliable and reproducible. Different methods have been used for local staging; however, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has shown to be the most reliable tool for this purpose. MRI offers prognostic information about the patients and guides the decision between neoadjuvant treatment and total mesorectal excision alone. Also, not only the initial staging but also restaging by MRI can provide significant information regarding tumor response that is essential when considering alternative approaches.