Staging: what makes sense? Can the pathologist help?

The staging of colorectal cancer continues to be an interesting and evolving process. Accurate staging can predict overall prognosis and helps to select appropriate treatment options. This article addresses the clinical and pathologic staging of colon and rectal cancer. The use of endorectal ultrasound in the preoperative clinical staging of rectal cancer is reviewed. The importance of surgical resection margins, lymph node retrieval rates, and tumor markers is discussed.