Rectal Cancer Stages T2 and T3 Identification Based on Asymptotic Hybrid Feature Maps

Many existing intelligent recognition technologies require huge datasets for model learning.However,it is not easy to collect rectal cancer images,so the performance is usually low with limited training samples.In addition,traditional rectal cancer staging is time-consuming,error-prone,and susceptible to physicians’subjective awareness as well as professional expertise.To settle these deficiencies,we propose a novel deep-learning model to classify the rectal cancer stages of T2 and T3.First,a novel deep learning model(RectalNet)is constructed based on residual learning,which combines the squeeze-excitation with the asymptotic output layer and new cross-convolution layer links in the residual block group.Furthermore,a two-stage data augmentation is designed to increase the number of images and reduce deep learning’s dependence on the volume of data.The experiment results demonstrate that the proposed method is superior to many existing ones,with an overall accuracy of 0.8583.Oppositely,other traditional techniques,such as VGG16,DenseNet121,EL,and DERNet,have an average accuracy of 0.6981,0.7032,0.7500,and 0.7685,respectively.

Prophylactic lateral pelvic lymph node dissection in stage Ⅳ low rectal cancer

AIM To assess the clinical significance of prophylactic lateral pelvic lymph node dissection (LPLND) in stage Ⅳ low rectal cancer.METHODS We selected 71 consecutive stage Ⅳ low rectal cancer patients who underwent primary tumor resection,and enrolled 50 of these 71 patients without clinical LPLN metastasis.The patients had distant metastasis such as liver,lung,peritoneum,and paraaortic LN.Clinical LPLN metastasis was defined as LN with a maximum diameter of 10 mm or more on preoperative pelvic computed tomography scan.All patients underwent primary tumor resection,27 patients underwent total mesorectal excision(TME) with LPLND(LPLND group),and 23 patients underwent only TME(TME group).Bilateral LPLND was performed simultaneously with primary tumor resection in LPLND group.R0 resection of both primary and metastatic sites was achieved in 20 of 50 patients.We evaluated possible prognostic factors for 5-year overall survival (OS),and compared 5-year cumulative local recurrence between the LPLND and TME groups.RESULTS For OS,univariate analyses revealed no significant benefit in the LPLND compared with the TME group (28.7% vs 17.0%,P = 0.523); multivariate analysis revealed that R0 resection was an independent prognostic factor.Regarding cumulative local recurrence,the LPLND group showed no significant benefit compared with TME group (21.4% vs 14.8%,P = 0.833).CONCLUSION Prophylactic LPLND shows no oncological benefits in patients with Stage Ⅳ low rectal cancer without clinical LPLN metastasis.

Prognostic value of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 and classⅢβ-tubulin in survival for nonmetastatic rectal cancer

AIM To assess the long-term prognostic value of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1(VEGFR1)and classⅢβ-tubulin(TUBB3)mRNA expression in nonmetastatic rectal cancer.METHODS A total of 75 consecutive patients with non-metastatic rectal cancer from March 2004 to November 2008 were analyzed retrospectively at our institute.The mRNA expressions of VEGFR1 and TUBB3 were detected by multiplex branched DNA liquid-chip technology.The Cutoff Finder application was applied to determine cutoff point of mRNA expression.SPSS software version 22.0was used for analysis.RESULTS The median follow-up was 102.7 mo(range,6-153.6).Theχ~2 and Fisher’s exact tests showed that VEGFR1expression was related to lymph node metastasis(P=0.013),while no relationships between TUBB3 and clinicopathological features were observed.Univariate analysis showed that T stage,lymph node metastasis,tumor differentiation,VEGFR1 and TUBB3 mRNA expression were correlated to overall survival(OS)(P=0.048,P=0.003,P=0.052,P=0.003 and P=0.015,respectively).Also,lymph node metastasis and VEGFR1expression independently influenced OS by multivariate analysis(P=0.027 and P=0.033).VEGFR1 expression was positively correlated with TUBB3(P=0.024).The patients with low expression of both TUBB3 and VEGFR1 presented a better OS(P=0.003).In addition,the receiver operating characteristic analysis suggested that the combination of lymph node metastasis and VEGFR1 had a more favorable prognostic value(P<0.001).CONCLUSION VEGFR1 expression and lymph node metastasis independently and jointly affect survival.Moreover,low expression of VEGFR1 and TUBB3 presented a better OS in patients with non-metastatic rectal cancer,which might serve as a potential prognostic factor.

Prognostic and predictive significance of MSI in stages Ⅱ/Ⅲ colon cancer

In colon cancer,classic disease staging remains the key prognosis and treatment determinant.Although adjuvant chemotherapy has an established role in stageⅢcolon cancer patients,in stageⅡit is still a subject of controversy due to its restriction to a small subgroup of patients with high-risk histopathologic features.Patients with stageⅡtumors form a highly heterogeneous group,with five-year relative overall survival rates ranging from 87.5%(ⅡA)to 58.4%(ⅡC).Identifying those for whom adjuvant chemotherapy would be appropriate and necessary has been challenging,and prognostic markers which could serve in the selection of patients more likely to recur or benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy are eagerly needed.The stronger candidate in this category seems to be microsatellite instability(MSI).The recently reported European Society for Medical Oncology guidelines suggest that MSI should be evaluated in stageⅡcolorectal cancer patients in order to contribute in treatment decisionmaking regarding chemotherapy administration.Thehypothetical predictive role of MSI regarding its response to 5-fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy has proven a much more difficult issue to address.Almost every possible relation between MSI and chemotherapy outcome has been described in the adjuvant colon cancer setting in the international literature,and the matter is far from being settled.In this current report we critically evaluate the prognostic and predictive impact of MSI status in patients with stageⅡand stageⅢcolon cancer patients.

Macroscopic appearance of TypeⅣand giant Type Ⅲ is a high risk for a poor prognosis in pathological stage Ⅱ/Ⅲ advanced gastric cancer with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy

AIM To evaluate whether a high risk macroscopic appearance(Type Ⅳ and giant Type Ⅲ) is associated with a dismal prognosis after curative surgery, because its prognostic relevance remains elusive in pathological stage Ⅱ/Ⅲ(p Stage Ⅱ/Ⅲ) gastric cancer.METHODS One hundred and seventy-two advanced gastric cancer(defined as pT2 or beyond) patients with p Stage Ⅱ/Ⅲ who underwent curative surgery plus adjuvant S1 chemotherapy were evaluated, and the prognostic relevance of a high-risk macroscopic appearance was examined. RESULTS Advanced gastric cancers with a high-risk macroscopic appearance were retrospectively identified by preoperative recorded images. A high-risk macroscopic appearance showed a significantly worse relapse free survival(RFS)(35.7%) and overall survival(OS)(34%) than an average risk appearance(P = 0.0003 and P < 0.0001, respectively). A high-risk macroscopic appearance was significantly associated with the 13^(th) Japanese Gastric Cancer Association(JGCA) pT(P = 0.01), but not with the 13^(th) JGCA pN. On univariate analysis for RFS and OS, prognostic factors included 13^(th) JGCA p Stage(P < 0.0001)and other clinicopathological factors including macroscopic appearance. A multivariate Cox proportional hazards model for univariate prognostic factors identified highrisk macroscopic appearance(P = 0.036, HR = 2.29 for RFS and P = 0.021, HR = 2.74 for OS) as an independent prognostic indicator. CONCLUSION A high-risk macroscopic appearance was associated with a poor prognosis, and it could be a prognostic factor independent of 13^(th) JGCA stage in p Stage Ⅱ/Ⅲ advanced gastric cancer.

Stage Ⅲ should be subclassified into Stage ⅢA and ⅢB in the American Joint Committee on Cancer(8^(th) Edition) staging system for pancreatic cancer

AIM To ascertain the prognostic role of the T4 and N2 category in stage Ⅲ pancreatic cancer according to the 8 th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer(AJCC) classification.METHODS Patients were collected from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results(SEER) database(2004-2013) and were divided into three groups: T(1-3)N2, T4 N(0-1), and T4 N2. Overall survival(OS) and disease-specific survival(DSS) of patients were evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS For the first time, we found a significant difference in OS and DSS between T(1-3)N2/T4 N(0-1) and T4 N2 butnot between T(1-3)N2 and T4 N(0-1). A higher grading correlated with a worse prognosis in the T(1-3)N2 and T4 N2 groups.CONCLUSION Patients with stage T4 N2 had a worse prognosis than those with stage T(1-3)N2/T4 N(0-1) in the 8 th edition AJCC staging system for pancreatic cancer. We recommend that stage Ⅲ should be subclassified into stage ⅢA [T(1-3)N2/T4 N(0-1)] and stage ⅢB(T4 N2).

Effect of TCM Combined with Chemotherapy on Immune Function and Quality of Life of Patients with Non-small Cell Lung Cancer inStage Ⅲ-Ⅳ

Objective: To observe and compare the effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) combined with chemotherapy (CT) on immune function and quality of life (QOL)of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ. Methods: One hundred cases with stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ NSCLC were randomly divided into two groups. The treated group (n=50) received CT combined with TCM, and the control group received CT alone. The percentage of T lymphocyte subset in peripheral blood and the change of natural killer (NK) cell count were observed after treatment. The QOL and tolerance of CT were also compared between the two groups after treatment. Results: In the treated group, CD3 cell count, CD4 cell count, CD4/ CDg ratio and NK cell activity were higher than those in control group, while CD8 cell count in the treated group was lower than that in the control group (P<0.05), and QOL and tolerance of CT in the treated group were also better (P<0.05). Conclusion: TCM combined with CT could raise the patients' ability in tolerating CT in stage Ⅲ-ⅣNSCLC.

Role of radiation therapy in the management of stage Ⅲ non-small cell lung cancers: current status and controversies

The treatment of stage Ⅲ non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) consisting of the heterogeneous stage subsets remains a challenge. Overall, it has been gradually recognized that radiation therapy(RT) plays a crucial role in the management of stage Ⅲ NSCLC. One superior sulcus tumors are the subset for which the trimodality treatments are clearly preferred. One subset of stage Ⅲ NSCLC has a minimal disease burden with microscopic p N2 disease or with discrete p N2 involvement identified preoperatively, thus technically could undergo a surgical resection. For the incidentally found p N2 disease after complete surgery(ⅢA-1, ⅢA-2), the value of postoperative radiotherapy(PORT) has been recognized by a reassessment based on new data. However, doubt persists regarding how to define the clinical target volume for PORT. For the discrete p N2 involvement identified preoperatively(a selected part of ⅢA-3), induction chemoradiation therapy(CRT) before surgery may yield a survival advantage, although the phase Ⅲ randomized trials in this issue are not conclusive. The other major subset of stage Ⅲ NSCLC is the infiltrative stage Ⅲ NSCLC with N2 or N3 nodal disease(ⅢA-3, ⅢA-4, and ⅢB), for which concurrent CRT is considered as the current standard of care. The potential role of radiation dose escalation/acceleration has been proposed; however, the optimal dose fractionation remains an important unresolved question. Additionally, the role of prophylactic cranial irradiation for stage Ⅲ patients with high risk of brain metastasis is worth of further assessment. Moreover, how to integrate molecular targeted therapy with RT, as well as whether they had a role in stage Ⅲ diseases, are other controversies actively under study in ongoing trials. This review specifically describes the updated role of RT in multimodal approach to treat stage Ⅲ NSCLC and the controversies regarding these results in various situations.

血清TAP、proGRP、cyfra21-1与Ⅲ~Ⅳ期NSCLC新辅助化疗疗效及预后的关系

目的探讨血清肿瘤异常蛋白(TAP)、胃泌素释放肽前体(proGRP)、细胞角蛋白19片段(cyfra21-1)与Ⅲ~Ⅳ期非小细胞肺癌(NSCLC)新辅助化疗(NCT)疗效及预后的关系。方法选取100例Ⅲ~Ⅳ期NSCLC患者为研究对象,所有患者均采用NCT治疗,根据疗效将患者分为有效组和无效组,比较不同疗效患者化疗前后TAP、proGRP、cyfra21-1水平,分析化疗后TAP、proGRP、cyfra21-1水平对NSCLC患者NCT疗效的评估价值。所有患者均随访1年,分析化疗后TAP、proGRP、cyfra21-1表达水平与预后的关系。结果化疗后,有效组TAP、proGRP、cyfra21-1水平低于无效组(P<0.05)。ROC曲线结果显示,TAP评估NSCLC患者NCT疗效的AUC和截点值分别为0.739、178.18μm 2,proGRP评估NSCLC患者NCT疗效的AUC和截点值分别为0.810、52.21 ng/L,cyfra21-1评估NSCLC患者NCT疗效的AUC和截点值分别为0.775、7.70μmol/L,联合评估NSCLC患者NCT疗效的AUC为0.913,高于单项诊断(P<0.05)。TAP、proGRP、cyfra21-1高表达患者的1年生存率均低于低表达患者(P<0.05)。结论TAP、proGRP、cyfra21-1联合评估Ⅲ~Ⅳ期NSCLC患者NCT疗效具有较高价值,且其均与NSCLC患者预后密切相关。

The famous Chinese medicine doctor Xue Jing-Dong Taohong Siwu Decoction cured 1 case of primary liver cancer stage Ⅲa

Primary liver cancer is the most common malignant tumor of the liver.Surgery,intervention,radiotherapy,and chemotherapy are the main treatment methods in the early stage,and the basic principles of post-treatment are palliative treatment and symptomatic treatment.Xue Jing-Dong,a famous Chinese doctor,started from the etiology and pathogenesis of liver cancer,used the methods of promoting blood circulation to remove blood stasis,nourishing blood and replenishing liver,and applied Taohong Siwu Decoction based on long-term clinical experience to cure 1 case of primary liver cancer stage Ⅲa in two years.The patient’s survival period can be prolonged and the quality of life can be improved.The author begins with the diagnosis of stage Ⅲa liver cancer,western medicine treatment methods,and previous treatment experience of traditional Chinese medicine,and briefly describes the diagnosis and treatment of this patient.

How useful is rectal endosonography in the staging of rectal cancer?

It is essential in treating rectal cancer to have adequate preoperative imaging,as accurate staging can influence the management strategy,type of resection,and candidacy for neoadjuvant therapy.In the last twenty years,endorectal ultrasound(ERUS) has become the primary method for locoregional staging of rectal cancer.ERUS is the most accurate modality for assessing local depth of invasion of rectal carcinoma into the rectal wall layers(T stage) .Lower accuracy for T2 tumors is commonly reported,which could lead to sonographic overstaging of T3 tumors following preoperative therapy.Unfortunately,ERUS is not as good for predicting nodal metastases as it is for tumor depth,which could be related to the unclear definition of nodal metastases.The use of multiple criteria might improve accuracy.Failure to evaluate nodal status could lead to inadequate surgical resection.ERUS can accurately distinguish early cancers from advanced ones,with a high detection rate of residual carcinoma in the rectal wall.ERUS is also useful for detection of local recurrence at the anastomosis site,which might require fine-needle aspiration of the tissue.Overstaging is more frequent than understaging,mostly due to inflammatory changes.Limitations of ERUS are operator and experiencedependency,limited tolerance of patients,and limited range of depth of the transducer.The ERUS technique requires a learning curve for orientation and identification of images and planes.With sufficient time and effort,quality and accuracy of the ERUS procedure could be improved.

Multimodal imaging evaluation in staging of rectal cancer

Rectal cancer is a common cancer and a major cause of mortality in Western countries. Accurate staging is essential for determining the optimal treatment strategies and planning appropriate surgical procedures to control rectal cancer. Endorectal ultrasonography (EUS) is suitable for assessing the extent of tumor invasion, particularly in early-stage or superficial rectal cancer cases. In advanced cases with distant metastases, computed tomography (CT) is the primary approach used to evaluate the disease. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is often used to assess preoperative staging and the circumferential resection margin involvement, which assists in evaluating a patient&#x02019;s risk of recurrence and their optimal therapeutic strategy. Positron emission tomography (PET)-CT may be useful in detecting occult synchronous tumors or metastases at the time of initial presentation. Restaging after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) remains a challenge with all modalities because it is difficult to reliably differentiate between the tumor mass and other radiation-induced changes in the images. EUS does not appear to have a useful role in post-therapeutic response assessments. Although CT is most commonly used to evaluate treatment responses, its utility for identifying and following-up metastatic lesions is limited. Preoperative high-resolution MRI in combination with diffusion-weighted imaging, and/or PET-CT could provide valuable prognostic information for rectal cancer patients with locally advanced disease receiving preoperative CRT. Based on these results, we conclude that a combination of multimodal imaging methods should be used to precisely assess the restaging of rectal cancer following CRT.

Clinical significance of magnetic resonance imaging findings in rectal cancer

Staging of rectal cancer is essential to help guide clini-cians to decide upon the correct type of surgery and determine whether or not neoadjuvant therapy is indicated. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is currently one of the most accurate modalities on which to base treatment decisions for patients with rectal cancer. MRI can accurately detect the mesorectal fascia, assess the invasion of the mesorectum or surrounding organs and predict the circumferential resection margin. Although nodal disease remains a difficult radiological diagnosis, new lymphographic agents and diffusion weighted imaging may allow identification of metastatic nodes by criteria other then size. In light of this, we have reviewed the literature on the accuracy of specific MRI findings for staging the local extent of primary rectal cancer. The aim of this review is to establish a correlation between MRI findings, prognosis, and available treatment options.

Evolving treatment strategies for colorectal cancer: A critical review of current therapeutic options

Management of rectal cancer has markedly evolved over the last two decades.New technologies of staging have allowed a more precise definition of tumor extension.Refinements in surgical concepts and techniques have resulted in higher rates of sphincter preservation and better functional outcome for patients with this malignancy.Although,preoperative chemoradiotherapy followed by total mesorectal excision has become the standard of care for locally advanced tumors,many controversial matters in management of rectal cancer still need to be defined.These include the feasibility of a non-surgical approach after a favorable response to neoadjuvant therapy,the ideal margins of surgical resection for sphincter preservation and the adequacy of minimally invasive techniques of tumor resection.In this article,after an extensive search in PubMed and Embase databases,we critically review the current strategies and the most debatable matters in treatment of rectal cancer.

Endorectal ultrasonography versus phased-array magnetic resonance imaging for preoperative staging of rectal cancer

AIM: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of pelvic phased-array magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and endorectal ultrasonography (ERUS) in the preoperative staging of rectal carcinoma. METHODS: Thirty-four patients (15 males, 19 females) with ages ranging between 29 and 75 who have biopsy proven rectal tumor underwent both MRI and ERUS examinations before surgery. All patients were evaluated to determine the diagnostic accuracy of depth of transmural tumor invasion and lymph node metastases. Imaging results were correlated with histopathological findings regarded as the gold standard and both modalities were compared in terms of predicting preoperative local staging of rectal carcinoma. RESULTS: The pathological T stage of the tumors was: pT1 in 1 patient, pT2 in 9 patients, pT3 in 21 patients and pT4 in 3 patients. The pathological N stage of the tumors was: pN0 in 19 patients, pN1 in 9 patients and pN2 in 6 patients. The accuracy of T staging for MRI was 89.70% (27 out of 34). The sensitivity was 79.41% and the specificity was 93.14%. The accuracy of T staging for ERUS was 85.29% (24 out of 34). The sensitivity was 70.59% and the specificity was 90.20%. Detection of lymph node metastases usingphased-array MRI gave an accuracy of 74.50% (21 out of 34). The sensitivity and specificity was found to be 61.76% and 80.88%, respectively. By using ERUS in the detection of lymph node metastases, an accuracy of 76.47% (18 out of 34) was obtained. The sensitivity and specificity were found to be 52.94% and 84.31%, respectively. CONCLUSION: ERUS and phased-array MRI are complementary methods in the accurate preoperative staging of rectal cancer. In conclusion, we can state that phased-array MRI was observed to be slightly superior in determining the depth of transmural invasion (T stage) and has same value in detecting lymph node metastases (N stage) as compared to ERUS.

Multidisciplinary treatment of rectal cancer in 2014: Where are we going?

In the present review we discuss the recent developments and future directions in the multimodal treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer, with respect to staging and re-staging modalities, to the current role of neoadjuvant chemo-radiation and to the conservative and more limited surgical approaches based on tumour response after neoadjuvant combined therapy. When initial tumor staging is considered a high accuracy has been reported for T pre-treatment staging, while preoperative lymph node mapping is still suboptimal. With respect to tumour re-staging, all the current available modalities still present a limited accuracy, in particular in defining a complete response. The role of short vs long-course radiotherapy regimens as well as the optimal time of surgery are still unclear and under investigation by means of ongoing randomized trials. Observational management or local excision following tumour complete response are promising alternatives to total mesorectal excision, but need further evaluation, and their use outside of a clinical trial is not recommended.The preoperative selection of patients who will benefit from neoadjuvant radiotherapy or not, as well as the proper identification of a clinical complete tumour response after combined treatment modalities,will influence the future directions in the treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer.

Current trends in staging rectal cancer

Management of rectal cancer has evolved over the years. In this condition preoperative investigations assist in deciding the optimal treatment. The relation of the tumor edge to the circumferential margin (CRM) is an important factor in deciding the need for neoadjuvant treatment and determines the prognosis. Those with threatened or involved margins are offered long course chemoradiation to enable R0 surgical resection. Endoanal ultrasound (EUS) is useful for tumor (T) staging; hence EUS is a useful imaging modality for early rectal cancer. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is useful for assessing the mesorectum and the mesorectal fascia which has useful prognostic significance and for early identification of local recurrence. Computerized tomography (CT) of the chest, abdomen and pelvis is used to rule out distant metastasis. Identification of the malignant nodes using EUS, CT and MRI is based on the size, morphology and internal characteristics but has drawbacks. Most of the common imaging techniques are suboptimal for imaging following chemoradiation as they struggle to differentiate fibrotic changes and tumor. In this situation, EUS and MRI may provide complementary information to decide further treatment. Functional imaging using positron emission tomography (PET) is useful, particularly PET/CT fusion scans to identify areas of the functionally hot spots. In the current state, imaging has enabled the multidisciplinary team of surgeons, oncologists, radiologists and pathologists to decide on the patient centered management of rectal cancer. In future, functional imaging may play an active role in identifying patients with lymph node metastasis and those with residual and recurrent disease following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy.

Magnetic resonance imaging for diagnosis and neoadjuvant treatment evaluation in locally advanced rectal cancer:A pictorial review

High-resolution pelvic magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) is the primary method for staging rectal cancer.MRI is highly accurate in the primary staging of rectal cancer;however,it has not proven to be effective in restaging,especially in complete response evaluation after neoadjuvant therapy.Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy produces many changes in rectal tumors and on adjacent area,as a result,local tumor extent may not be accurately determined.However,adding diffusion-weighted sequences to the standard approach can improve diagnostic accuracy.In this pictorial review,an overview of the situation of MRI in the staging and re-staging of rectal cancer is exhibited as a pictorial assay.An experience-and literature-based discussion of limitations and difficulties in interpretation are also presented.

Increased proliferation activity measured by immunoreactive Ki67 is associated with survival improvement in rectal/recto sigmoid cancer

AIM: To assess the expression of Ki67 as prognosticator in rectal/recto sigmoid cancer.METHODS: Samples from 146 patients with rectal and recto sigmoid cancer were studied for expression of Ki67 and its prognostic significance in comparison with clinicopathological predictors of survival. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues from 6 (4.1%) patients with T1, 26 (17.8%) with T2, 94 (64.4%) with T3, and 20 (13.7%) with T4 tumors were studied. Ki67 expression was determined immunohistochemically. Samples were divided according to mean value into high (＞40%) and low (≤40%) expression. Areas of extensive proliferation (＞50%) were defined as 'hot spot' areas. RESULTS: Hot spot areas were present in samples regardless of histopathological grade. Lower TNM and Dukes stage and higher expression of Ki67 and presence of Ki67 hot spot areas in histopathological samples were associated with better survival, whereas no association was observed with histopathological grade (P = 0.78). In Cox multivariate regression analysis, significant prognostic factors were Dukes stage (P＜0.001), presence of lymph node metastases (P = 0.015), age (P = 0.035) andpresence of Ki67 hot spot areas (P = 0.044). CONCLUSION: Proliferative activity as measured by Ki67 in rectal cancer is associated with survival improvement compared with patients with low Ki67. Areas of prognostically significant increased proliferation were found independently of histopathological tumor grade.

Surgical treatment for rectal cancer:An international perspective on what the medical gastroenterologist needs to know

Rectal cancer accounts for one third of all colorectal cancers.The age adjusted death rates from colorectal cancer have declined over recent decades due to a combination of colorectal cancer screening,improved diagnostic tests,improved standardized surgical technique,improved medical support,neoadjuvant chemotherapies and radiation treatment or combinations of these.Because of complex treatment algorithms,use of multidisciplinary teams in the management of rectal cancer patients has also been popularized.Medical gastroenterologists performing colonoscopies are frequently the first health care provider to raise the suspicion of a rectal cancer.Although the diagnosis depends on histological confirmation,the endoscopic presentation is almost diagnostic in many cases.In order to meet the patient's immediate needs for information,it is important that the endoscopist has knowledge about the investigations and treatment options that will be required for their patient.The aim of this paper is to describe the modern preoperative investigations and operative procedures commonly offered to rectal cancer patients taking into account perspectives of three colorectal surgeons,practicing in the USA,Europe and Asia.