Advances in the management of rectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer is the second most common malignancy in the western world. In the UK 32 000 new cases are diagnosed annually, of which approximately 45% occur in the rectum and rectosigmoid. Although the management of colonic malignancies has not altered greatly in recent years this is not true of rectal cancer: advances in surgical technique, molecular biology, radiological imaging and adjuvant therapy have dramatically altered the way patients are treated. This review gives a brief overview of these changes.