BACKGROUND: Rectal cancer staging using rigid probes or echoendoscopes has some limitations. The aim of the study was to compare rectal cancer preoperative staging using conventional endoluminal ultrasonography with three-dimensional endoscopic ultrasonography and miniprobes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty patients were included and evaluated with: a) a conventional echoendoscope (7.5 and 12 MHz); b) miniprobes (...