Which of the following statements with regard to resection of rectal cancers is/are true?
A. A distal margin of 5 cm should be obtained because 42% of patients have microscopic evidence of intramural spread beyond 3 cm from the palpable tumor
B. A distal margin of 3 cm should be obtained because only 3% of patients have microscopic evidence of intramural spread beyond 2 cm from the palpable tumor
C. Local recurrence rates correlate strongly with distal margins less than 4 cm
D. There is no correlation between local recurrence and distal margins beyond 2 cm
Answer:B
Which of the following statements with regard to resection of rectal cancers is/are true?
A. A distal margin of 5 cm should be obtained because 42% of patients have microscopic evidence of intramural spread beyond 3 cm from the palpable tumor B. A distal margin of 3 cm should be obtained because only 3% of patients have microscopic evidence of intramural spread beyond 2 cm from the palpable tumor C. Local recurrence rates correlate strongly with distal margins less than 4 cm D. There is no correlation between local recurrence and distal margins beyond 2 cm