Outcomes following a limited approach to radiotherapy in rectal cancer

BACKGROUND: Variation in the use of neoadjuvant and adjuvant radiotherapy for rectal cancer suggests an opportunity to avoid it in all but patients at highest risk of local recurrence. METHODS: Between 1 July 1999 and 1 February 2006, patients with primary rectal cancer were treated by a single surgeon operating at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Digital rectal examination and pelvic computed tomography were used to determine …