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©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Aug 28, 2014; 20(32): 11249-11261
Published online Aug 28, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i32.11249
Published online Aug 28, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i32.11249
Multidisciplinary treatment of rectal cancer in 2014: Where are we going?
Andrea Vignali, Paola De Nardi, Department of Surgery, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita Salute University, 20132 Milan, Italy
Author contributions: Vignali A and De Nardi P solely contributed to this paper.
Correspondence to: Andrea Vignali, MD, Department of Surgery, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita Salute University, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy. vignali.andrea@hsr.it
Telephone: +39-2-26432272 Fax: +39-2-26432856
Received: February 22, 2014
Revised: May 8, 2014
Accepted: May 25, 2014
Published online: August 28, 2014
Revised: May 8, 2014
Accepted: May 25, 2014
Published online: August 28, 2014
Core Tip
Core tip: There is a growing interest in the possibility of the preoperative identification of locally advanced rectal cancer patients who will or will not benefit from a preoperative chemoradiotherapy. This review evaluates the role of current available imaging techniques in this decision process and critically analyzes the results and future scenarios of the more limited surgical or observational approaches. In particular, the new trends following a pathologic complete response (i.e., local excision, wait and see approach) are discussed on the basis of randomized trials and meta-analyses which form the basis for present treatment recommendations.