Topics:
Radiation Oncology • Gastrointestinal Cancers
For low rectal adenocarcinoma that extends to the anus through the internal sphincter muscle, would you recommend neoadjuvant therapy in a patient who will undergo APR?
Does extension to the anus affect your determination of T classification? Would you consider this a T2 tumor if it does not extend to the external sphincter? Would your recommendation concerning neoadjuvant therapy change if the tumor did extend to the external sphincter?
Answer from: Radiation Oncologist at Academic Institution
Yes, caudal extension to the internal sphincter is typically considered T3. Even in the absence of external sphincter involvement, assessment of the intersphincteric space can be useful for assessing downstaging and for subsequent surgical considerations. And for the reasons Dr. @Christopher H. Cran...
I’d love a Canadian or EU to answer weighing...
Yes.