Complete Clinical Response following Neoadjuvant Treatment of Stage II Rectal Cancer: Observation of Surgery

......................................... Received: 29-01-14 Accepted: 05-11-14 Abstract Complete clinical response after neoadjuvant therapy for locally advanced rectal cancer has been considered sufficient for implementation of a non-surgical approach of observation and monitoring by some authors. Standard management of this condition is radical resection of the primary tumor six to ten weeks after completion of neoadjuvant therapy. In this review the pros and cons of each proposal are presented, and implications and recommendations for each alternative are described.