Abstract
When suspecting rectal cancer, we can simply perform digital rectal examination. Few studies have reported on digital scrape cytology. We carried out smearing cytology by rectal examination in 25 cases suspecting rectal carcinoma, and compared the cytologic findings with those of biopsy and final diagnosis in evaluable cases. Two cases were considered inconclusive because of inadequate smears. There was no false positive, and 3 false negative. The sensitivity was 86%, the specificity was 100%, and the accuracy was 88%. We suggest digital scrape cytology as a useful alternative, because it is simple, safe, and shows accurate diagnoses. The cytologic smear shows abundant cellularities in positive cases, which detects cancer cells that isolate easily in the intestine.
