“…These include tumour level within the rectum 20 -22 , tumour size 23 , macroscopic morphology 24 , distal clearance 3,22,25 , circumferential clearance 26 -28 , depth of tumour invasion 28 -31 , lymph node metastasis 21,23,26,29 -31 , number of involved nodes 25,32 , tumour stage 3,6,20,22,24,33 -35 , grade of differentiation 20,23,26,28,32 , infiltrating tumour margin 26 , vascular invasion 3,6,22,26 , sex 22 , age 25,31 , intraoperative spillage of tumour cells 6,20 , anastomotic leakage 22,34 , experience and specialization of the surgeon 6,20 , surgical technique 3,22,35 , interhospital variability 20 and adjuvant therapy 6,23,31,33 . However, an extensive literature search by the authors failed to find any publications in which the position of the tumour was considered as a possible risk factor for local recurrence, although in one study position was found to be associated with cancer-specific mortality 36 .…”