In what situations would you treat a rectal mass as cancer despite negative biopsies?
For example, if mass is ulcerated and cannot be excised with polypectomy? Would you ever consider radiation and chemotherapy?
Answer from: Medical Oncologist at Academic Institution
It is not uncommon to see a patient with rectal mass highly suspicious for malignancy by endoscopic evaluation but has a negative biopsy. Usually, this is due to superficial biopsy specimens.
In our clinic, we usually get repeated endoscopic evaluation with biopsy as our first step. However, a smal...
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Answer from: Radiation Oncologist at Academic Institution
Rebiopsy. If not possible to obtain a positive biopsy, surgery. If surgery is off the table, curative intent chemo RT.
Answer from: Radiation Oncologist at Community Practice
Respectfully, "Never" is usually never the right answer, and that applies here. This is a good question and something we encounter at our GI tumor boards with some degree of regularity. Our approach is typically this:
Rebiopsy. Our surgeons are used to this request now and many times will indepen...
Medical Oncologist
Simple answer. NEVER!
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Medical Oncologist at UH Seidman Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University
An excisional biopsy would likely give you the ans...
An excisional biopsy would likely give you the ans...
Radiation Oncologist at West Virginia University
A colorectal surgeon once shared a story with me a...
A colorectal surgeon once shared a story with me a...