Surgical Treatment of Stage I Rectal Cancer

Abstract

For treatment of early-stage rectal cancer, local (transanal) excision offers the advantages of lower rates of morbidity, mortality, and functional impairment in comparison with radical surgery such as total mesorectal excision (TME). Minimally invasive platforms facilitate removal of rectal tumors that are beyond the reach of conventional transanal excision techniques. The main drawback of local excision is the higher risk of local recurrence compared with TME. The risk of local recurrence is higher in patients with close resection margins, tumors penetrating beyond the submucosa, or tumors with unfavorable histologic features. In these patients, outcomes for immediate proactive TME are generally better than observation followed by reactive salvage TME in case of local recurrence. The use of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy may make local excision a viable option for T2 rectal tumors. As chemoradiation and local excision are being increasingly used for later-stage tumors, advances in imaging technologies will play a crucial role in facilitating careful patient selection. This review contains 5 figures, 5 tables and 37 references Key words: endocavitary contact radiotherapy, local excision, local recurrence, rectal cancer, salvage surgery, total mesorectal excision, transanal endoscopic operation, transanal excision, transanal minimally invasive surgery