Is "watch-and-wait" after chemoradiotherapy safe in patients with rectal cancer?

What you need to know: After standard long-course chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced rectal cancer, up to a quarter of patients have no clinically apparent tumour—referred to as a clinical complete response. Evidence from observational studies suggests these patients can be considered for a “watch-and-wait” approach with regular surveillance to avoid major surgery. Up to a third of patients on a watch-and-wait programme develop tumour regrowth and require salvage surgery; the long term outcomes are uncertain.