title: Nonoperative approach to locally advanced rectal cancer after neoadjuvant combined modality therapy: challenges and opportunities from a surgical perspective.
abstract: This review contains a surgical perspective on the evolution of the nonoperative approach to patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who have a clinical complete response after neoadjuvant combined modality therapy, including accuracy of pathologic complete response identification, the timing between neoadjuvant combined modality therapy and assessment of response, the extent of long-term follow-up, and the likelihood of surgical salvage after an initial nonoperative approach.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Colorectal Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Fischkoff
authors.forename: Jeannine A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Ruby
authors.forename: José G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Guillem
mesh_terms: D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome