ABSTRACT
Accurate preoperative staging of rectal cancer influences the choice of surgery and the use of neoadjuvant therapies, with the aim of achieving a clear resection margin. It is also possible that, in selected early tumours, resectional surgery may be avoided with the use of local excision. The endorectal ultrasound (EUS) staging system, its accuracy with respect to other imaging modalities, and the clinical role of EUS in the assessment of rectal cancer are discussed in this chapter.
