A systematic review and meta-analysis of preoperative MRI-based pelvimetry in predicting surgical difficulty in rectal cancer: Implications for personalised surgical planning

Background

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based pelvimetry has been investigated for predicting surgical difficulty in total mesorectal excision (TME) for rectal cancer. However, heterogeneity in pelvimetric parameters, surrogate outcomes, and study design has resulted in inconsistent evidence. This systematic review aimed to synthesise the evidence on commonly used MRI parameters and difficulty surrogates and assess their methodological robustness and clinical relevance.