Presence of distal intramural spread after preoperative combined-modality therapy for adenocarcinoma of the rectum: What is now the appropriate distal resection margin?

Our study shows that the vast majority of patients with rectal cancer after neoadjuvant CMT have no tumor cells beyond 1 cm from the residual tumor. Our data suggest that a 2-cm margin of resection when feasible from the macroscopic tumor margin after neoadjuvant CMT is adequate.