Imaging and Diagnosis for Planning the Surgical Procedure

Abstract

The preoperative imaging diagnosis of rectal cancer lies at the heart of oncological staging and has a crucial influence on patient management and therapy planning. Rectal cancer is common, and accurate preoperative staging of tumors using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a crucial part of modern multidisciplinary team management (MDT). Indeed, rectal MRI has the ability to accurately evaluate a number of important findings that maBay impact patient management, including distance of the tumor to the mesorectal fascia, presence of lymph nodes, presence of extramural vascular invasion (EMVI), and involvement of the anterior peritoneal reflection/peritoneum and the sphincter complex. Many of these findings are difficult to assess in non-expert hands. In this chapter, we present currently used staging modalities with focus on MRI, including optimization of imaging techniques, tumor staging, interpretation help as well as essentials for reporting.

Involvement of Machine Learning Tools in Healthcare Decision Making

“…The endoscope also provides a wider and multiangle close-up view which is of much importance in the surgical field [ 32 ]. For diseases like rectal cancer, MRI plays a key role as it can accurately depict the local extent of the cancer and generates relevant information required for prognoses which can directly influence the choice of the optimal therapeutic procedure used for each individual patient which encourages the area of personalized medicine [ 33 ].…”