Lateral Nodal Features on Restaging Magnetic Resonance Imaging Associated With Lateral Local Recurrence in Low Rectal Cancer After Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy or Radiotherapy

Abstract

Restaging MRI is important in clinical decision making in lateral nodal disease. In patients with shrinkage of lateral nodes from an SA node size of 7 mm or greater on primary MRI to an SA node size of 4 mm or less on restaging MRI, which occurs in about 30% of cases, LLND can be avoided. However, persistently enlarged nodes in the internal iliac compartment indicate an extremely high risk of LLR, and an LLND lowered LLR in these cases.