Delayed versus immediate surgery following short-course neoadjuvant radiotherapy in resectable (T3N0/N+) rectal cancer.

Abstract

Purpose Preoperative short-course radiotherapy (SCRT) followed by surgery has shown advantage over surgery alone in patients with resectable rectal carcinoma (RC); however, the importance of the timing of surgery after SCRT has not been well defined. This study aimed to investigate the effect of this duration on treatment outcomes.