Intestine and Lower Gastrointestinal Tract · 4 March 2024

Refusal of Surgery in Rectal Cancer: Shortened Survival Despite Some Achieving Complete Clinical Response

Rectal cancer patients who refused surgery despite incomplete response to neoadjuvant therapy had shortened overall survival (OS). Some patients converted to a complete clinical response (CCR) on subsequent staging, leading to prolonged OS. Patients with near CCR at initial endoscopic staging may benefit from prolonged monitoring before declaring CCR. Increased physician visits and testing were observed in patients who opted for a watch-and-wait approach or refused total mesorectal excision.

Journal Article by Labadie KP, Olson KA (…) Melstrom KA et 7 al. in J Surg Oncol

read the whole article in J Surg Oncol

open it in PubMed

Summaries are written to help you decide what to read. They do not replace the full paper.

Free · 5 minutes a day

Get every new paper in Intestine and Lower Gastrointestinal Tract.

Plus the Daily Selection: the five most relevant papers of the day, each cut to its key points.

More in Intestine and Lower Gastrointestinal Tract

The latest stitches

Lancet4 Nov 2026

Colorectal cancer: shorter chemo, fewer side effects

A Japanese randomized trial found that a 14-day schedule of trifluridine-tipiracil plus bevacizumab keeps patients with metastatic colorectal cancer alive as long as the standard 28-day schedule, with far less toxicity.

Br J Surg4 Nov 2026

Robot matches laparoscopy for rectal cancer survival

Five years after surgery for low rectal cancer, patients operated on robotically did as well as those operated on laparoscopically, according to a randomized trial from three Korean centres.

Ann Surg Oncol2 Nov 2026

Smoking linked to weaker rectal cancer response

Patients smoking at diagnosis were less likely to have a favorable response to treatment before rectal cancer surgery; former smokers were not.

All papers in Intestine and Lower Gastrointestinal Tract →