Abstract
Surgical therapy of rectal carcinoma has advanced enormously since the 1990s. However, not only the surgical technique itself has improved; first and foremost has been the effort to adapt the radicality of the surgical approach to the individual patient. The objective is to avoid therapies that are either too aggressive or too conservative, while taking the patient’s unique situation into account. A surgery that is too radical may not further increase the chance of cure, but may ultimately result in a long-lasting and severe reduction in quality of life. If the therapy regimen is too conservative, an increased rate of recurrence will result and the patient’s long-term survival will be unavoidably reduced.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Bretagnol F, Rullier E, George B et al (2007) Local therapy for rectal cancer: still controversial? Dis Colon Rectum 50:523–533
Glynne-Jones R, Mawdley S, Novell JR (2007) The clinical significance of the circumferential resection margin following preoperative chemo-radiotherapy in rectal cancer: why we need a common language. Colorectal Dis 8:800–807
Hida J, Yasutomi M, Fujimoto K et al (1997) Does lateral lymph node dissection improve survival in rectal carcinoma? Examination of node metastases by the clearing method. J Am Coll Surg 184:475–480
Idrees K, Paty PB (2006) Early rectal cancer: transanal excision or radical surgery? Adv Surg 40:239–248
Kapiteijn E, Marijnen CA, Nagtegaal ID et al (2001) Preoperative radiotherapy combined with total mesorectal excision for resectable rectal cancer. N Engl J Med 345:638–646
Merkel S, Mansmann U, Siassi M et al (2001) The prognostic inhomogeneity in pT3 rectal carcinomas. Int J Colorectal Dis 16:298–304
Quirke P, Durdey P, Dixon MF et al (1986) Local recurrence of rectal adenocarcinoma due to inadequate surgical resection. Histopathological study of lateral tumour spread and surgical excision Lancet 2:996–999
Ross HM, Mahmoud N, Fry RD (2005) The current management of rectal cancer. Curr Probl Surg 42:72–131
Sauer R, Becker H, Hohenberger W et al (2004) Preoperative versus postoperative chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer. N Engl J Med 351:1731–1740
Wibe A, Moller B, Norstein J et al (2002) A national strategic change in treatment policy for rectal cancer – implementation of total mesorectal excision as routine treatment in Norway. A national audit. Dis Colon Rectum 45:857–866
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hopt, U.T. (2009). Introduction: From a Surgeon’s Point of View. In: MRI of Rectal Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-72833-7_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-72833-7_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-72832-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-72833-7
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)