Long-Term Outcomes of Local Excision Following Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer

Background Local excision might represent an alternative to total mesorectal excision for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who achieve a major or complete clinical response after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Methods Between August 2005 and July 2011, 63 patients with mid-low rectal adenocarcinoma who had a major/complete clinical response after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy were enrolled in a multicenter prospective phase 2 trial and underwent transanal full thickness local excision. The main endpoint of this study was to evaluate the 5- and 10-year overall, relapse-free, local, and distant relapse-free survival, which were calculated by applying the Kaplan-Meier method. The rate of patients with rectum preserved and without stoma were also calculated. Results Of 63 patients, 38 (60%) were male and 25 (40%) were female, with a median (range) age of 64 (25-82) years. At baseline, the following clinical stages were found: cT2, n = 21 (33.3%); cT3, n = 42 (66.6%), 39 (61.9%) patients were cN+. At a median (range) follow-up of 108 (32-166) months, the estimated cumulative 5- and 10-year overall survival, relapse-free survival, local recurrence-free survival, and distant recurrence-free survival were 87% (95% CI 76-93) and 79% (95% CI 66-87), 89% (95% CI 78-94) and 82% (95% CI 66-91), both 91% (95% CI 81-96), and 90% (95% CI 80-95) and 86% (95% CI 73-93), respectively. Overall, 49 (77.8%) patients had their rectum preserved, and 54 (84.1%) were stoma-free. Conclusion In highly selected patients, the local excision approach after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy is associated with excellent long-term outcomes, high rates of rectum preservation and absence of permanent stoma.