Non-operative management of rectal cancer: future perspectives turning into reality?

Abstract

The management of rectal cancer has considerably changed over the last decades and complete response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy is becoming a common clinical entity. There is still no consensus on the definition of complete response to neoadjuvant treatment prior to surgery. Treatment programs are mostly heterogeneous and non-randomized. In addition, techniques to diagnose complete response are still unclear and there is no uniformity in surveillance modality of those patients managed without operative intervention. We review the most recent evidences reported in literature.