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World J Gastrointest Surg. Feb 27, 2023; 15(2): 177-192
Published online Feb 27, 2023. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v15.i2.177
Surveillance strategies following curative resection and non-operative approach of rectal cancer: How and how long? Review of current recommendations
Andrea Lauretta, Giulia Montori, Gian Piero Guerrini
Andrea Lauretta, Department of Surgical Oncology, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano IRCCS, Aviano 33081, Italy
Giulia Montori, Department of General Surgery, Vittorio Veneto Hospital, ULSS 2 Marca Trevigiana, Vittorio Veneto 31029, Italy
Gian Piero Guerrini, Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgical Oncology and Liver Transplantation Unit, Policlinico-AUO Modena, Modena 41124, Italy
Author contributions: Lauretta A and Guerrini GP developed the project; Lauretta A and Montori G reviewed the literature; Lauretta A, Montori G, and Guerrini GP drafted and revised the manuscript, and are accountable for all aspects of the work; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Andrea Lauretta, MD, Chief Doctor, Surgeon, Surgical Oncologist, Department of Surgical Oncology, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano IRCCS, Via Franco Gallini 2, Aviano 33081, Italy. andrea.lauretta@cro.it
Received: November 23, 2022
Peer-review started: November 23, 2022
First decision: December 10, 2022
Revised: December 30, 2022
Accepted: January 17, 2023
Article in press: January 17, 2023
Published online: February 27, 2023
Processing time: 95 Days and 17.4 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Follow-up programs following rectal cancer curative treatment are widely accepted as an integrated part of the therapeutic pathway, but there is still no consensus regarding which test should be performed, the time schedule, the frequency and the duration of surveillance. The impact on survival has also been questioned with recurrence detection not necessarily associated with curative surgery. The aim of this review was to provide an overview of recommendations on this topic with supporting evidence.