NCCN Guidelines® Insights: Rectal Cancer, Version 3.2024

• DOI: 10.6004/jnccn.2024.0041
• Publication Date: 2024-08-16T12:38:41Z
• Authors: Al B. Benson; Alan P. Venook; Mohamed Adam; George Chang; Yi-Jen Chen; Kristen K. Ciombor; Stacey A. Cohen; Harry S. Cooper; Dustin Deming; Ignacio Garrido-L...; Jean L. Grem; Paul Haste; J. Randolph Hecht; Sarah Hoffe; Steven Hunt; Hisham Hussan; Kimberly L. Johung; Nora Joseph; Natalie Kirilcuk; Smitha Krishnamurthi; Midhun Malla; Jennifer K. Maratt; Wells A. Messersmith; Jeffrey Meyerhardt; Eric D. Miller; Mary F. Mulcahy; Steven Nurkin; Aparna Parikh; Hitendra Patel; Katrina Pedersen; Leonard Saltz; Charles Schneider; David Shibata; Benjamin Shogan; John M. Skibber; Constantinos T. S...; Anna Tavakkoli; Christopher G. Wi...; Christina Wu; Frankie Jones; Lisa Gurski
• Keywords: Neoadjuvant Therapy

The determination of an optimal treatment plan for individual patient with rectal cancer is a complex process. In addition to decisions relating the intent surgery (ie, curative or palliative), consideration must also be given likely functional results treatment, including probability maintaining restoring normal bowel function/anal continence and preserving genitourinary functions. Particularly patients distal cancer, finding balance between curative-intent therapy while having minimal impact on quality life can challenging. Furthermore, risk pelvic recurrence higher in compared those colon locally recurrent associated poor prognosis. Careful selection use sequenced multimodality following multidisciplinary approach recommended. These NCCN Guidelines Insights detail recent updates Rectal Cancer, endoscopic submucosal dissection as option early-stage total neoadjuvant based clinical trials, “watch-and-wait” nonoperative management complete responders therapy.