A less invasive treatment against rectal cancer would prevent permanent sequelae

The combination of preoperative chemoradiotherapy and transanal endoscopic microsurgery could be useful in helping to reduce local recurrence of rectal cancer. This therapeutic strategy could contribute to minimizing the sequelae in these patients. This is suggested by the results of the TAUTEM study, a phase III multicenter, randomized and controlled clinical trial published by the journal Annals of Oncology.

The research, in which Dr. Pilar Hernández, Dr. María del Carmen Martínez Sánchez and Dr. Eduardo Mª Targarona, researchers from the General and Digestive Surgery Group of the Santa Creu i Sant Pau Hospital Research Institute – IIB Sant Pau and specialists from the Gastrointestinal and Hematological Surgery Unit of the same hospital, has been led by Dr. Xavier Serra Aracil, from the Colorectal Surgery Research Group of the Parc Taulí Research and Innovation Institute (I3PT), in Sabadell.

Colorectal cancer is one of the most prevalent among the population. It is the second most common tumor among women – after breast cancer – and the third most common in men, only behind lung and prostate cancer. One in four cases of colorectal cancer affects the rectum.

Currently, the standard treatment for rectal cancer is surgery, which in most cases involves removing the rectum permanently. Patients who undergo this operation must live with a bag permanently or temporarily, and many may also suffer problems in the urinary bladder and present sexual dysfunctions, with all the consequences that this entails for their quality of life. life

This study suggests that, in the short term, the results of this new therapeutic strategy are equivalent to conventional treatment, but it represents a much less invasive option that allows the rectum to be preserved.

Article de referencia

Serra-Aracil, C. Pericay, J. Badia-Closa, T. Golda, S. Biondo, P. Hernández, E. Tarragona, N. Borda-Arrizabalaga, A. Reina, S. Delgado, F. Vallribera, A. Caro, J. Gallego-Plazas, M. Pascual, C. Álvarez-Laso, H. Guadalajara Labajo, L. Mora-Lopez. Short-term outcomes of chemoradiotherapy and local excision vs total mesorectal excision in T2–T3ab,N0,M0 rectal cancer. A multicentre randomised, controlled, phase III trial (the TAUTEM study). Annals of Oncology, 2022, ISSN 0923-7534, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annonc.2022.09.160.