Watch-and-Wait as a Therapeutic Strategy in Rectal Cancer.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose of review

Pathological complete response is seen in approximately one fifth of rectal cancer patients following neoadjuvant chemoradiation. Since these patients have excellent oncological outcomes, there has been a rapidly growing interest in organ preservation for those who develop a clinical complete response. We review the watch-and-wait strategy and focus on all aspects of this hot topic, including who should be considered for this approach, how should we identify treatment response and what are the expected outcomes.

Recent findings

The major challenges in interpreting the data on watch-and-wait are the significant heterogeneity of patients selected for this approach and of methods employed to identify them. The evidence available comes mostly from retrospective

SUBMITTER: Bernier L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5857277 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature