Evaluation of the Diagnostic Value of Digital Rectal Examination for Lymph Node Metastasis in Mid-Low Rectal Cancer

Background: NCCN’s guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of rectal cancer suggest that accurate preoperative clinical staging of rectal cancer is very important. Reliable preoperative evaluation is the key to the development of surgical protocols, in order to investigate the diagnostic value of digital rectal diagnosis for lymph node metastasis of middle and low rectal cancer. Methods: We prospectively performed digital rectal examination in 258 patients with mid-low rectal cancer before operation, to analyze the distance from the lower margin of the tumor to the margin of the anus, the diameter of the invasion of the intestinal wall of the tumor, the accuracy between the general type and depth of invasion of the tumor and the pathological results of the postoperative specimen, and the predictability of the lymph node metastasis rate of the rectal digital examination. Results: The results of the analysis showed that the above indicators and postoperative pathological findings have high accuracy. Conclusions: It is concluded that accurate and detailed digital rectal examination before operation can predict lymph node metastasis rate of mid-low rectal cancer at a higher level and accurately.