No abstract

Our data suggest that local excision is a good option for patients with a major clinical response after chemoradiotherapy. A longer period of follow-up is required to confirm these findings.

Preoperative chemoradiation with capecitabine and RT appeared to be effective in locally advanced resectable, rectal cancer. The favorable safety profile of the combination might warrant the use of capecitabine and RT with other effective new drugs.

HighlightsA large population based analysis to evaluate pathologic response according to time of surgery.LARC patients were treated with modern techniques of radiotherapy and surgery.The rate of pCR increased according to time interval from 12.6% to 31.1%.The pCR increasing was 1.5% (about 0.2%/die) per each week of waiting.Lengthening the interval (>13 weeks) significantly improved the pathological response.

Patients with T1 cancer and favorable histologic features may undergo local excision alone, whereas those with T2 and T3 rectal cancer require preoperative radiochemotherapy. The results in the authors' experience after TEM appear not to be substantially different in terms of local recurrence and survival rate from those described for conventional surgery.