Mesorectal Excision With or Without Lateral Lymph Node Dissection for Clinical Stage II/III Lower Rectal Cancer (JCOG0212): A Multicenter, Randomized Controlled, Noninferiority Trial

Objective:The aim of the study was to confirm the noninferiority of mesorectal excision (ME) alone to ME with lateral lymph node dissection (LLND) in terms of efficacy.Background:Lateral pelvic lymph node metastasis is occasionally found in clinical stage II or III lower rectal cancer, and ME with L