Loco-regional relapses from rectal cancer

Background Loco-regional relapses (LRRs) from rectal cancer still represent a major issue in colo-rectal surgery. With the introduction of Total Mesorectal Excision (TME), LRR incidence after curative resection for rectal cancer dramatically decreased from 20–40% of cases to 2–12%. Several factors are involved in predicting LRRs, the most important of these being Dukes stage. When no treatment is performed, median survival for these patients is about 8 months.