Clinical trial · Interventional
Minimal Invasive Strategies for Good and Complete Response to Chemoradiation in Rectal Cancer
Minimal Invasive Treatment for Patients With Good Response to Chemoradiation With Selection and Follow-up by MRI: a Single Arm Phase-II Feasibility Study in Rectal Cancer
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
The high proportion of complete and good responders with modern chemoradiation and the improvement in magnetic resonance (MR)-imaging techniques have stimulated a renewed interest to the question whether in patients with complete or good response the overall benefits of a 'wait-and-see policy' or transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) combined with intensive follow-up may outweigh the benefits associated with conventional surgery (total mesorectal excision (TME)or abdominoperineal resection (APR)). On the one hand, less invasive strategies will expose subjects to more diagnostic procedures and possibly a slightly higher risk of local failure and the need for salvage surgery. On the other hand, mortality and morbidity associated with radical surgery (e.g. anastomotic leakage, relaparotomy, wound and pelvic infection, chronic wound healing disturbances, abscess, colostomy, faecal or urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction) can be avoided. The investigators believe that wait-and-see policy for complete responders and TEM for good responders after chemoradiation is a feasible alternative to standard surgery, provided these patients are intensively followed.
Conditions
Conditions (1)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer | Malignant Rectal Neoplasm | CURATED_BROADER | 0.78 |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wait&see or TEM with intensive follow-up | Procedure | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (1)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Wait&see or TEM with intensive follow-up
- description
- All patients will be included in this arm
- interventionNames
- Procedure: Wait&see or TEM with intensive follow-up
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- Local recurrence
- timeFrame
- 2 and 5 years
Secondary outcomes (6)
- measure
- Overall survival
- timeFrame
- 2 and 5 years
- measure
- Disease-free survival
- timeFrame
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria:
* 18 years or older
* Patients with primary rectal cancer without distant metastases who underwent CRT and show clinical complete response or very good response: Clinical complete response (ycT0N0) or very good response (ycT1-2N0) after pre-operative chemoradiation will be determined clinically (digital rectal examination, endoscopy), radiologically (contrast-enhanced-MRI) and pathologically (biopsy)
* Informed consent and capability of giving informed consent
* Comprehension of the alternative strategies and the concept of unknown risks are clear to the patient (in other words that the patient understands the experimental base of the study).
Exclusion Criteria:
* Recurrent rectal cancer.
* Distant metastasis.
* Unable or unwilling to comply to the intensive follow-up schedule.
* Contra-indications for MRI. If MRI is not possible because of contra-indications (e.g. pacemaker) we will exclude patients. MRI is crucial for response evaluation and follow-up and can not be omitted in patients that follow the alternative strategies ('wait-and-see policy' or TEM).References
Publications (2)
- RESULTMaas M, Beets-Tan RG, Lambregts DM, Lammering G, Nelemans PJ, Engelen SM, van Dam RM, Jansen RL, Sosef M, Leijtens JW, Hulsewe KW, Buijsen J, Beets GL. Wait-and-see policy for clinical complete responders after chemoradiation for rectal cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2011 Dec 10;29(35):4633-40. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2011.37.7176. Epub 2011 Nov 7. PMID 22067400
- DERIVEDHaak HE, Zmuc J, Lambregts DMJ, Beets-Tan RGH, Melenhorst J, Beets GL, Maas M; Dutch Watch-and-Wait Consortium. The evaluation of follow-up strategies of watch-and-wait patients with a complete response after neoadjuvant therapy in rectal cancer. Colorectal Dis. 2021 Jul;23(7):1785-1792. doi: 10.1111/codi.15636. Epub 2021 Apr 2. PMID 33725387