title: Sphincter preservation in rectal cancer. Preoperative radiation therapy followed by low anterior resection with coloanal anastomosis.
abstract: The advantage of preoperative therapy in patients with clinically resectable transmural rectal cancer is to increase sphincter preservation while obtaining a high likelihood of local control. In patients who undergo a prospective clinical assessment and are declared to require an abdominoperineal resection, preoperative radiation therapy, either alone or when combined with chemotherapy, allows approximately 80% of patients to undergo a low anterior resection with or without colo anal anastomosis. The majority have good-to-excellent sphincter function. This conservative approach may be an alternative to an abdominoperineal resection in selected patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021, USA.
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Minsky
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000601:surgery; D001003:Anal Canal / Q000502:physiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical / Q000379:methods; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D003106:Colon / Q000601:surgery*; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D018579:Patient Selection; D010502:Perineum / Q000601:surgery; D011300:Preoperative Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D012074:Remission Induction