Local excision versus radical resection in patients with rectal neuroendocrine tumours: a propensity score match analysis

Background The rectum is a common site for neuroendocrine tumours of the gastrointestinal tract. Diagnosis of these tumours has been increasing in recent years, highlighting the need to better define treatment options for patients with rectal neuroendocrine tumours (rNETs). Methods We performed a retrospective analysis using the National Cancer Database (2004–2014) to compare overall survival (OS) between local excision (LE) and radical resection (RR). To minimize bias, we performed three propensity score‐matched comparisons stratified by tumour size: 20 mm. We compared OS by Kaplan–Meier analysis. We also examined margin status and postoperative outcomes for each comparison. Results A total of 12 996 patients underwent surgical treatment for rNET. There was no significant difference in probability of 10‐year OS between LE and RR for patients with tumours 20 mm, probability of 10‐year OS was significantly longer in the LE group (76.5% versus 37.0%, P