Local Recurrence After Complete Clinical Response and Watch and Wait in Rectal Cancer After Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation: Impact of Salvage Therapy on Local Disease Control

Local recurrence may develop in 31% of patients with initial cCR when early regrowths (≤12 months) and late recurrences are grouped together. More than half of these recurrences develop within 12 months of follow-up. Salvage therapy is possible in ≥90% of recurrences, leading to 94% local disease control, with 78% organ preservation.