Accuracy of Preoperative Local Staging of Primary Colorectal Cancer by Using Computed Tomography: Reappraisal Based on Data Collected at a Highly Organized Cancer Center

Abstract

CT has good sensitivity for detecting colon cancers with tumor invasion beyond the bowel wall. However, detection of nodal involvement using CT is unreliable. In our opinion, abdominal CT alone has limitations in predicting the local staging of colorectal cancer, and additional technologies, such as CT plus positron emission tomography and/or colonography, will improve its accuracy.