Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37924372›Full record

SynthesisInternational journal of colorectal disease2023

Comparing neoadjuvant therapy followed by local excision to total mesorectal excision in the treatment of early stage rectal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials.

Paul Lynch, Odhrán K Ryan, Mark Donnelly, Éanna J Ryan, Matthew G Davey, Ian S Reynolds, Ben Creavin, Ann Hanly, Rory Kennelly, Seán T Martin and 1 more

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in International journal of colorectal disease, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Organ preservation with total neoadjuvant therapy in early-stage rectal cancer: A statewide analysis.Colorectal disease : the official journal of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Paul Lynch *Department of Colorectal Surgery, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Odhrán K Ryan *Department of Colorectal Surgery, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Mark DonnellyDepartment of Colorectal Surgery, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Éanna J RyanDepartment of Colorectal Surgery, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland. eannaryan@rcsi.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2609-0836
Matthew G DaveyDepartment of Colorectal Surgery, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Ian S ReynoldsDepartment of Colorectal Surgery, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Ben CreavinDepartment of Colorectal Surgery, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Ann HanlyDepartment of Colorectal Surgery, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Rory KennellyDepartment of Colorectal Surgery, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Seán T MartinDepartment of Colorectal Surgery, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Des C WinterDepartment of Colorectal Surgery, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland.
St. Vincent's University Hospital · IE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionTotal mesorectal excision (TME) is the standard-of-care in early, clinical stage (cT2-3 N0 M0) rectal cancer. Local excision (LE) may be an alternative after adequate response to neoadjuvant therapy (NAT), with either long-course chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) or short-course radiotherapy (SCRT), as a means of preserving the rectum and potentially obviating the morbidity of TME.

methodsA systematic review was performed according to PRISMA guidelines for studies that randomly assigned patients with cT2-3 N0 M0 rectal cancer to either NAT + LE or TME that reported radiologic, oncologic, surgical, and morbidity outcomes.

resultsA total of 4 RCTs comprise 462 patients (232 patients receiving NAT + LE; nCRT n = 205; SCRT n = 27) and 230 undergoing TME, respectively. NAT compliance was 98.86%. The rate of early completion TME in the NAT + LE group was 22.3%, while the proportion of patients achieving durable organ preservation was 75.4% at mean follow-up of 5.6 years. There was no difference in disease-free survival (DFS) (HR [hazard ratio] 1.19; 95% CI 0.95, 1.49; p = 0.13) or overall survival (OS) (HR 0.94; 95% CI 0.72, 1.23; p = 0.63]) according to the assigned treatment arm. The local recurrence rate (LRR) (HR 1.22; 95% CI 0.5-3.02; p = 0.66) and distant metastases (HR 0.92; 95% CI 0.45, 1.90; p = 0.82) were also comparable between the groups. There was a significant reduction in major (OR 0.45; 95% CI 0.21, 0.95; p = 0.04) and minor morbidity (OR 0.45; 95% CI 0.24, 0.85; p = 0.01) for patients undergoing NAT + LE. Overall stoma formation was decreased in the NAT + LE group (OR 0.03; 95% CI 0.0, 0.23; p ≤ 0.00001).

conclusionNAT + LE reduces adverse effects of TME, without any compromise in oncological outcomes, and the potential for an organ preserving strategy should be discussed with patients with T2-3N0 rectal cancers prior to treatment.

Indexed as

Rectal NeoplasmsRectumChemoradiotherapyDisease-Free SurvivalHumansNeoadjuvant TherapyNeoplasm Recurrence, LocalNeoplasm StagingRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTreatment OutcomeLocal excisionNeoadjuvant therapyOrgan preservingOverall survivalTotal mesorectal excision

Identifiers

PMID37924372
OpenAlexW4388340663

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.