Metastasis is not infrequent in "minimally invasive" colorectal cancer. Appropriate bowel resection with lymph node dissection is indicated if such a lesion exhibits more than three histologic risk factors for metastasis.
In cases with extensive local rectal cancer spread, the nerve-sparing rectal resection that omits lateral dissection may be insufficient for local control because of incomplete removal of occult microscopic cancer, resulting in local recurrence. Presence of microscopic cancer correlates closely with large tumor nodules and metastatic lymph nodes. Intraoperative frozen section investigations may, thus, help in deciding on extent of location resection.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.