Afonso Henrique da Silva e Sousa

TL;DR: Stage 0 rectal cancer disease is associated with excellent long-term results irrespective of treatment strategy and Surgical resection may not lead to improved outcome in this situation and may be associated with high rates of temporary or definitive stoma construction and unnecessary morbidity and mortality rates.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluated the impact of combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy on the treatment of potentially resectable low rectal cancer using the following end points: 1) toxicity of this combined modality regimen; 2) clinical and pathologic response rate and local control; 3) downstaging of the tumor and its influence on the number of sphincter-saving operations; 4) disease-free interval, patterns of relapse, and overall survival.

TL;DR: Cancer-related overall and disease-free survival may be correlated to final pathologic staging following neoadjuvant CRT for distal rectal cancer, and stage 0 is significantly associated with improved outcome.

TL;DR: Diverting loop ileostomy adds little cumulative morbidity to the primary operation and is a safe option for diversion to protect a low colorectal anastomosis, according to the cutoff value for increased risk of developing postoperative complications.

TL;DR: Larger number of cases and an extended follow-up are required to adequate evaluation of oncological results for patients undergoing laparoscopic abdominoperineal resection after chemoradiation for radical treatment of distal rectal cancer.