The presentation and management of presacral tumours

Twenty cases of presacral tumours are presented, nine males and eleven females being affected. Malignancy occurred in 50 per cent of adults and was commoner in men than in women. Diagnosis depends on a careful rectal examination. Computerized axial tomography is the single most useful investigation; however, should it not be available, plain X-rays and ultrasonography give considerable information. For lesions less than 10 cm in size a local parasacral approach is often feasible but for larger lesions an abdominal approach or combined approach should be considered.