Abstract
Concerns over unacceptable high mortality in patients with rectal cancer undergoing surgery or systemic therapy who contract COVID-19 have led to widespread adoption of alternative treatment strategies.The ReCaP study aimed to study these variations and associated outcomes.
Highlights
Over 8000 patients are diagnosed with rectal cancer in the UK each year[1]
Treatment has improved over recent years as a result of incremental advances in optimized surgical technique, clinical staging, pathological quality control, and multidisciplinary management[2]
Neoadjuvant therapy is often required in patients with locally advanced tumours, and is usually delivered according to a long-course strategy
Summary
Over 8000 patients are diagnosed with rectal cancer in the UK each year[1]. Treatment has improved over recent years as a result of incremental advances in optimized surgical technique, clinical staging, pathological quality control, and multidisciplinary management[2]. Hypofractionated short-course strategies (short-course radiotherapy, SCRT) may be used, traditionally with immediate surgery, but recently have been combined with strategies such as delayed surgery[3,4] and/or systemic chemotherapy[5]. Such regimens offer potential benefits for patients in terms of reducing treatment time and access to systemic therapy, but may be of use in areas with limited healthcare resources or geographical access to specialist services[5,6]. The aim of the prospective ReCaP study was to follow patients with rectal cancer managed in the UK during the pandemic, and to determine short-term, long-term, and patientreported outcomes. This article presents the short-term results for the first 500 patients recruited
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