Seung-Seop Yeom, In Ja Park, Dong-Hoon Yang, Jong Lyul Lee, Yong Sik Yoon, Chan Wook Kim, Seok-Byung Lim, Sung Ho Park, Hwa Jung Kim, Chang Sik Yu, Jin Cheon Kim
Ann Coloproctol. 2019;35(1):24-29. Published online February 28, 2019
Purpose Although the height of a rectal tumor above the anal verge (tumor height) partly determines the treatment strategy, no practical standard exists for reporting this. We aimed to demonstrate the differences in tumor height according to the diagnostic modality used for its measurement.
Methods We identified 100 patients with rectal cancers located within 15 cm of the anal verge who had recorded tumor heights measured by using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), colonoscopy, and digital rectal examination (DRE). Tumor height measured by using MRI was compared with those measured by using DRE and colonoscopy to assess reporting inconsistencies. Factors associated with differences in tumor height among the modalities were also evaluated.
Results The mean tumor heights were 77.8 ± 3.3, 52.9 ± 2.3, and 68.9 ± 3.1 mm when measured by using MRI, DRE, and colonoscopy, respectively (P < 0.001). Agreement among the 3 modalities in terms of tumor sublocation within the rectum was found in only 39% of the patients. In the univariate and the multivariate analyses, clinical stage showed a possible association with concordance among modalities, but age, sex, and luminal location of the tumor were not associated with differences among modalities.
Conclusion The heights of rectal cancer differed according to the diagnostic modality. Tumor height has implications for rectal cancer’s surgical planning and for interpreting comparative studies. Hence, a consensus is needed for measuring and reporting tumor height.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
The efficacy of open transanal drainage tube against anastomotic leakage in left-sided colorectal cancer surgery: a propensity score matching study Gen Tsujio, Tatsunari Fukuoka, Atsushi Sugimoto, Ken Yonemitsu, Yuki Seki, Hiroaki Kasashima, Yuichiro Miki, Mami Yoshii, Tatsuro Tamura, Masatsune Shibutani, Takahiro Toyokawa, Shigeru Lee, Kiyoshi Maeda BMC Surgery.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Defining the tumor location in rectal cancer – Practice variations and impact on treatment decision making Elisabeth P. Goedegebuure, Francesco M. Arico, Max J. Lahaye, Monique Maas, Geerard L. Beets, Femke P. Peters, Monique E. van Leerdam, Regina G.H. Beets-Tan, Doenja M.J. Lambregts European Journal of Surgical Oncology.2025; 51(6): 109700. CrossRef
Effects of Adjuvant Chemotherapy on Oncologic Outcomes in Patients With Stage ⅡA Rectal Cancer Above the Peritoneal Reflection Who Did Not Undergo Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy Hyo Seon Ryu, Jong Lyul Lee, Chan Wook Kim, Yong Sik Yoon, In Ja Park, Seok-Byung Lim, Yong Sang Hong, Tae Won Kim, Chang Sik Yu Clinical Colorectal Cancer.2024; 23(4): 392. CrossRef
Interrater Agreement of Height Assessment by Rigid Proctoscopy/Rectoscopy for Rectal Carcinoma Matthias Kraemer, Sarkhan Nabiyev, Silvia Kraemer, Stephanie Schipmann Diseases of the Colon & Rectum.2024; 67(8): 1018. CrossRef
Chinese national clinical practice guidelines on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of early colorectal cancer Jingnan Li, Hongwei Yao, Yun Lu, Shutian Zhang, Zhongtao Zhang Chinese Medical Journal.2024; 137(17): 2017. CrossRef
Review of definition and treatment of upper rectal cancer Elias Karam, Fabien Fredon, Yassine Eid, Olivier Muller, Marie Besson, Nicolas Michot, Urs Giger-Pabst, Arnaud Alves, Mehdi Ouaissi Surgical Oncology.2024; 57: 102145. CrossRef
Comparison of flexible endoscopy and magnetic resonance imaging in determining the tumor height in rectal cancer Mohammed H. Basendowah, Mohammed A. Ezzat, Aseel H. Khayyat, Eyad Saleh A. Alamri, Turki A. Madani, Anas H. Alzahrani, Rana Y. Bokhary, Arwa O. Badeeb, Hussam A. Hijazi Cancer Reports.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Measuring Rectal Cancer Tumor Height: Concordance Between Clinical Examination and MRI Shannon M. Navarro, Shuai Chen, Linda M. Farkas Diseases of the Colon & Rectum.2022; 65(4): 497. CrossRef
How do they measure up: Assessing the height of rectal cancer with digital rectal exam, endoscopy, and MRI,, Jordan Wlodarczyk, Kshitij Gaur, Nicholas Serniak, Kevin Mertz, Jason Muri, Sarah Koller, Sang W. Lee, Kyle G. Cologne Surgery in Practice and Science.2022; 10: 100096. CrossRef
Measurement of rectal tumor height from the anal verge on MRI: a comparison of internal versus external anal sphincter David D. B. Bates, James L. Fuqua, Junting Zheng, Marinela Capanu, Jennifer S. Golia Pernicka, Sidra Javed-Tayyab, Viktoriya Paroder, Iva Petkovska, Marc J. Gollub Abdominal Radiology.2021; 46(3): 867. CrossRef
Robotic Intersphincteric Resection for Low Rectal Cancer: Technical Controversies and a Systematic Review on the Perioperative, Oncological, and Functional Outcomes Guglielmo Niccolò Piozzi, Seon Hahn Kim Annals of Coloproctology.2021; 37(6): 351. CrossRef