Late assessment of quality of life in patients with rectal carcinoma: comparison between sphincter preservation and definitive colostomy.

Purpose: Patients with cancer of the lower and middle rectum who are candidates for curative surgery often have negative opinions on definitive colostomy. The purpose of this study is to compare the quality of life (QoL) of patients who undergo standard treatment for rectal cancer with sphincter preservation or definitive colostomy.

Methods: A total of 125 patients with adenocarcinoma of the lower or middle rectum who underwent radical surgery with curative intent with a follow-up ≥ 1 year were recruited: 83 patients (group 1) were subjected to low anterior resection and low colorectal or coloanal anastomosis-thus preserving their sphincter-and 42 (group 2) were treated with abdominoperineal resection, followed by terminal definitive colostomy.