Rectal cancers have more local relapses than colonic cancers. Since nuclear -catenin plays an important role for the proliferation capacity of cells, we wanted to evaluate whether there may be differences in the expression pattern of nuclear -catenin between rectal and colonic adenocarcinomas, explaining the observations made in clinical practice. Sections from 235 rectal adenocarcinomas treate...

BACKGROUND Surgical margin status is an important predictor of risk of relapse among patients with rectal cancer. METHODS Patients referred to the British Columbia Cancer Agency for consideration of adjuvant therapy for rectal adenocarcinoma were included. Predictors of margin positivity were determined from uni- and multivariate analysis. RESULTS Among 340 patients, 83% had negative resect...

The diagnostic applications for EUS have grown tremendously over the last decade. Most of the early development involved the use of EUS for upper GI indications. Until recently the rectal applications of EUS have largely remained unexplored. Several recent publications have demonstrated the usefulness of EUS in the evaluation of rectal diseases.1-3 At our center, there has been a steady increas...

Rectal chlamydia diagnoses have been increasing among MSM and may also rise among women as anal sex rates increase among heterosexuals. However, there is growing concern about treatment for rectal chlamydia with treatment failures of up to 22% being reported. This article addresses factors that may be contributing to treatment failure for rectal chlamydia, including the pharmacokinetic properti...

A 19 year female came with the complaints of rectal bleeding, constipation, griping abdominal pain and mucous discharge per rectum. Abdomen was tender on examination. Digital rectal examination in the squatting position revealed unterior rectal wall prolapse to the anal verge. Sigmoidoscopy and biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of Solitary Rectal Ulcer (S.R.U.) Syndrome.

Although diverticular disease of the colon is common, the occurrence of rectal diverticula is extremely rare with only sporadic reports in the literature since 1911. Symptomatic rectal diverticula are seen even less frequently, and surgical intervention is needed for only complicated cases. Here we report the case of a 63-year-old woman presenting with rectal diverticulitis mimicking rectal car...

PURPOSE To evaluate the effects of rectal enemas on rectal doses during radical high-dose-rate (HDR) intracavitary cervical brachytherapy (BT). MATERIAL AND METHODS Twenty patients suffering from cervical cancer and treated with external beam radiotherapy and HDR-BT were included in a prospective trial. The first brachytherapy fraction was considered the basal status, and patients were instru...

OBJECTIVE To analyze whether rectal testing among women increased chlamydia and gonorrhea case-finding and whether reported receptive anal intercourse was a risk factor for rectal infection. METHODS From March 2007 to August 2008, women receiving pelvic examinations at the San Francisco sexually transmitted disease clinic were tested for rectal gonorrhea and chlamydia by using a transcription...

BACKGROUND Perception of, and adaptation of the rectum to, distension probably play an important role in the maintenance of continence, but perception studies in faecal incontinence provide controversial conclusions possibly related to methodological biases. In order to better understand perception disorders, the aim of this study was to analyse anorectal adaptation to rectal isobaric distensio...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS To elucidate the dynamics of nitric oxide (NO) production induced by rectal gluten challenge and the relation between NO production and mucosal granulocyte activation. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Release of rectal NO was measured in 13 patients with coeliac disease and in 18 controls before and after rectal wheat gluten challenge. Rectal gas was collected with a rectal balloon us...