Real-time ultrasound examination in the diagnosis of gastrointestinal tumors.

Inflammatory and neoplastic infiltrations of the intestinal wall lead in advanced stages to a tumorous thickening that can be visualized by ultrasound as the so-called cockade sign. The possibilities and limitations of ultrasound diagnosis of gastrointestinal tumors are presented. Over a period of 2 years, 73 tumors were diagnosed, 39 primarily by means of ultrasound with the real-time technique; 15 tumors were curatively resected at the time of primary ultrasound diagnosis.