Other types of cancer including carcinoid and leiomyosarcoma also originate in the rectum, but are not referred to as rectal cancer. This treatment overview deals only with adenocarcinoma of the rectum which will be referred to as rectal cancer. Care must be carefully coordinated between the various treating physicians involved in management of your cancer. In order to understand the best treatment options available for treatment of rectal cancer, you must first determine where the cancer has spread in the body. The initial spread of rectal cancer occurs circumferentially around the rectum and laterally into the adjacent fat and muscles.
Rectal cancer can then invade nearby organs and spread through the lymph and blood systems.
Rectal cancer cells may spread via the blood throughout the body to the liver, lungs and other organs. Determining the extent of the spread or the stage of the cancer requires a number of tests and is ultimately confirmed by surgical removal of the cancer and exploration of the abdominal cavity. Computerized Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imagery scans of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis are used to determine where the cancer has spread. A colonoscopy may be used to identify whether a second cancer is present in the colon or rectum prior to surgery. EUS can help determine the stage, which is effected by the thickness of the cancer.