Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 May;15(3):722-729.
doi: 10.5114/aoms.2016.61441. Epub 2016 Jul 22.

Presacral tumors: diagnosis and treatment - a challenge for a surgeon

Łukasz Dziki  1 , Marcin Włodarczyk  1 , Aleksandra Sobolewska-Włodarczyk  1 , Aleksander Saliński  1 , Magdalena Salińska  1 , Marcin Tchórzewski  1 , Michał Mik  1 , Radzisław Trzciński  1 , Adam Dziki  1
Affiliations

Presacral tumors: diagnosis and treatment - a challenge for a surgeon

Łukasz Dziki et al. Arch Med Sci. 2019 May.

Abstract

Introduction: Presacral tumors are a rare group of heterogeneous lesions located in a potential space referred to as the retrorectal or presacral space. Lack of characteristic symptomatology and difficult anatomical localization make the diagnosis and management challenging for a surgeon. The aim of this study was to analyze cases of presacral tumors that underwent surgical treatment with regard to diagnostics, methods and outcomes.

Material and methods: The study enrolled patients who underwent surgical treatment at the Department of General and Colorectal Surgery, Medical University of Lodz. The data was analyzed for age, gender, clinical symptoms, type of diagnostic procedures conducted, histopathology results, type of treatment implemented, intra- and perioperative complications as well as early and long-term treatment outcomes.

Results: The study enrolled 29 patients who underwent surgical treatment for presacral tumors. Malignant tumors accounted for 34% of all cases (n = 10), and 80% of them occurred in men. Benign cases accounted for 66% of cases (n = 19), and they occurred predominantly in women (58%). Malignant lesions were more common in men (p < 0.05). The average age of patients with benign tumors was lower than that of patients with malignant tumors (p < 0.05). The transsacral approach was used in 51% of patients, abdominal laparotomy in 41% and a combined approach in 7%. Cure was achieved in 72% of patients, including 67% who were cured after their initial surgery.

Conclusions: Presacral tumors are more common in men and more commonly are malignant tumors in this group. The success rate of surgical treatment is 72%, and selection of the surgical approach does not affect the final treatment outcome.

Keywords: diagnosis; presacral tumors; retrorectal tumors; surgical strategy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Average age of patients with benign and malignant presacral tumors
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Jao SW, Beart RW, Spencer RJ, Reiman HM, Ilstrup DM. Retrorectal tumors. Mayo Clinic experience, 1960–1979. Dis Colon Rectum. 1985;28:644–52. - PubMed
    1. Dozois EJ, Jacofsky DJ, Dozois RR. Presacral tumors. In: Wolff BG, Fleshman JW, Beck DE, Pemberton JH, Wexner SD, editors. The ASCRS textbook of colon and rectal surgery. New York: Springer Science Business Media; 2007. pp. 501–14.
    1. Young-Fadock TM, Dozois RR. Tumores retrorrectales. In: Zuidema GD, Yeo CJ, editors. Shackelford. Cirugía del aparato digestivo. 5. Médica Panamericana: Buenos Aires; 2005. pp. 534–43.
    1. Scullion DA, Zwirewich CV, McGregor G. Retrorectal cystic hamartoma: diagnosis using endorectal ultrasound. Clin Radiol. 1999;54:338–9. - PubMed
    1. Hobson KG, Ghaemmaghami V, Roe JP, Goodnight J, Khatri VP. Tumors of the retrorectal space. Dis Colon Rectum. 2005;48:1964–74. - PubMed