ArticleClinical and translational radiation oncology2026
Organ preservation in rectal cancer following clinical complete response after short-course radiotherapy-based total neoadjuvant therapy.
Article in Clinical and translational radiation oncology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
17 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background and purpose: Organ preservation after total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) is feasible in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) who achieve a clinical complete response (cCR). However, most watch-and-wait (WW) evidence derives from long-course chemoradiotherapy (LCCRT), with limited data regarding short-course radiotherapy (SCRT)-based TNT. We evaluated response-adapted organ preservation following SCRT-based TNT in a public, resource-limited healthcare setting. Materials and methods: This retrospective cohort included consecutive patients with stage II-III LARC (cT3-T4 and/or N+) with palpable tumors ≤8 cm from the anal verge treated between 2020 and 2023. All patients received SCRT (25 Gy in five fractions) followed by consolidation chemotherapy (FOLFOX or CAPOX). Tumor response was assessed 8-12 weeks after TNT using digital rectal examination, pelvic MRI, flexible sigmoidoscopy and CEA levels. Patients achieving a cCR were managed with a structured WW protocol; others underwent total mesorectal excision (TME). Time-to-event outcomes were estimated descriptively. Results: Among 51 evaluable patients, 19 (37.3%) achieved cCR and 18 (35.3%) were managed with WW. After a median follow-up of 43.2 months (IQR 34.1-51.5), 3 WW patients (16.7%) developed local regrowth, all successfully salvaged with R0 resection. The estimated 24-month local regrowth-free survival was 82.2% (95% CI 65.8-100%). One WW patient died from systemic progression after salvage surgery. In the surgical group, 4 patients (12.1%) achieved a pathological complete response (pCR). Overall, 13 of 18 WW patients (72.2%) maintained sustained cCR without any oncologic event during follow-up. Conclusions: Hypofractionated SCRT integrated into a TNT strategy enabled response-adapted organ preservation with acceptable local regrowth-free survival in selected patients with LARC. This strategy was deliverable within a public healthcare system and achieved acceptable mid-term oncologic control. Prospective validation with longer follow-up is warranted.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.