Symptoms and diagnosis of local recurrence after rectal cancer treatment.

Aim: The prognosis for local recurrence after rectal cancer treatment is poor. A minority of patients are eligible for surgery with curative intent, which could possibly be improved by earlier detection. The aim of this study was to determine symptoms at presentation and how local recurrence was diagnosed, and to identify alarm symptoms for local recurrence as opposed to symptoms found among patients after surgery for rectal cancer in general.

Intraoperative adverse events as a risk factor for local recurrence of rectal cancer after resection surgery.

Aim: Failure to achieve a radical resection as well as intraoperative rectal perforation are important risk factors for local recurrence after rectal cancer surgery, but the importance of other intraoperative adverse events for the prognosis is unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the occurrence of intraoperative adverse events during rectal cancer surgery, and to determine whether these were associated with an increased risk of local recurrence.

Methods: A retrospective population-based cohort study was undertaken, including all patients in Region Västra Götaland, Sweden, who had undergone primary resection surgery for rectal cancer diagnosed between 2010 and 2014, registered in the Swedish Colorectal Cancer Registry.