Tumor response following preoperative chemoradiation therapy is mainly related to the preoperative regimen used. For patients receiving preoperative chemoradiation therapy, pretreatment T stage, but not tumor response to preoperative chemoradiation therapy, is prognostic for outcome (both disease-free and overall survival).

In patients with colorectal cancer, blood concentration of IL-6 is associated with high circulating CEA and advanced stage. Furthermore, an IL-6 concentration of more than 10 pg/ml is an independent negative prognostic marker of survival.

The plasma levels of the longer fragments (Alu 247) of cfDNA and the cfDNA integrity index are promising markers to predict tumor response after preoperative CRT for rectal cancer.

Overall, patients with rectal cancer recover well in the long run, with HRQOL levels comparable to that of the general population. HRQOL outcomes provide valuable data that may be used to improve information disclosure to patients.

In patients with pT0 after preoperative CRT for clinical stage II to III mid or low rectal cancer, the risk of nodal metastases is very low. More conservative surgery (local excision) may be considered in these cases.