Omission of or Poor Response to Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy Impacts Radial Margin Positivity Rates in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer.

Background: In the setting of multidisciplinary standardized care of locally advanced rectal cancer, preoperative chemoradiotherapy and total mesorectal excision have become the mainstay treatment.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate whether the lack of preoperative chemoradiotherapy or poor response to it is associated with higher radial margin disease involvement in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

Design: This is a retrospective cohort study using a publicly available database.