Cancers, Vol. 16, Pages 1539: Surgical Outcomes after Radiotherapy in Rectal Cancer

Cancers, Vol. 16, Pages 1539: Surgical Outcomes after Radiotherapy in Rectal Cancer Cancers doi: 10.3390/cancers16081539 Authors: Sofieke J. D. Temmink Koen C. M. J. Peeters Per J. Nilsson Anna Martling Cornelis J. H. van de Velde Over the past decade, the treatment of rectal cancer has changed considerably. The implementation of TME surgery has, in addition to decreasing the number of local recurrences, improved surgical morbidity and mortality. At the same time, the optimisation of radiotherapy in the preoperative setting has improved oncological outcomes even further, although higher perineal infection rates have been reported. Radiotherapy regimens have evolved through the adjustment of radiotherapy techniques and fields, increased waiting intervals, and, for more advanced tumours, adding chemotherapy. Concurrently, imaging techniques have significantly improved staging accuracy, facilitating more precise selection of advanced tumours. Although chemoradiotherapy does lead to the downsizing and -staging of these tumours, a very clear effect on sphincter-preserving surgery and the negative resection margin has not been proven. Aiming to decrease distant metastasis and improve overall survival for locally advanced rectal cancer, systemic chemotherapy can be added to radiotherapy, known as total neoadjuvant treatment (TNT). High complete response rates, both pathological (pCR) and clinical (cCR), are reported after TNT. Patients who follow a Watch &amp...
Source: Cancers - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Review Source Type: research