Role of laparoscopy in the staging of malignant disease

The staging of carcinoma is of paramount importance in planning treatment approaches for localized and advanced disease. It is imperative to identify accurately those patients with a potentially resectable, localized tumor and those patients with advanced disease or distant metastases. Current preoperative staging modalities are consistently inaccurate, resulting in a disparity between the results of preoperative investigations and findings at laparotomy. The combined benefits of staging laparoscopy and laparoscopic ultrasonography help dictate the selection of curative or palliative procedures in the cancer patient.