[Safe aboral distance in the sphincter-preserving resection of the rectum].

The correlation between the aboral margin of clearance and the end results after anterior and deep anterior resection of the rectum were analyzed for 293 patients documentated in the Erlangen clinical-pathological registry of colorectal cancers. The distance between the aboral margin of the carcinoma and the resection line was measured under standardized conditions. The best prognosis (age-corrected 5-year survival rate and frequency of local recurrence) is given if the margin of clearance is more than 30 mm on resected fresh specimen without tension. This distance corresponds with 50 mm on the mobilized rectum in situ. This rule applied to carcinomas of Dukes' stage A and/or grade 1 as well as to more advanced tumors or tumors with a higher grade of malignancy.