Evaluating Extended Field of View Imaging for Measuring Rectal Tumor Lowest Boundary to Anal Verge Distance via Transrectal Biplane Ultrasound.

PURPOSE

This study aimed to measure the precise distance from the lowest boundary of a rectal tumor to the anal verge (DTAV) in patients with rectal cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A retrospective analysis was performed on clinical data from 70 rectal cancer patients. DTAV measurements were collected using transrectal biplane ultrasound, MRI, and colonoscopy.

RESULTS

The difference in DTAV measurements between the mean DTAV value obtained by ultrasound (US ) and colonoscopy exhibited a difference of 0.22 cm. In contrast, the difference between US and MRI was 0.48 cm, while the difference between MRI and colonoscopy was -0.26 cm. The ICC for DTAV measurements demonstrated excellent agreement, with values of 0.948 between US and MRI, 0.942 between US and colonoscopy, and 0.943 between MRI and colonoscopy. The minimum DTAV value obtained by ultrasound (US ) was 5.05 cm, the middle DTAV value obtained by ultrasound (US ) was 5.10 cm, and the maximum DTAV value obtained by ultrasound (US ) was 5.30 cm. Notably, the median values of the differences in DTAV measurements between US and US , US and US , as well as US and US , were 0.2 cm, 0.1 cm, and 0.1 cm, respectively. Furthermore, the consistency of DTAV measurements between US and US , US and US , as well as US and US was excellent, with all ICC values reaching 0.999. Additionally, the radiologist's reassessment of MRI DTAV data showed excellent consistency with the original results, with an ICC value of 0.985.

CONCLUSION

Transrectal biplane ultrasound utilizing EFOV imaging technology exhibited both accuracy and reproducibility for measuring DTAV. This approach provided a highly efficient and practical clinical tool for DTAV measurement.