[Results of combined therapy in rectal cancer]

In locally advanced rectal cancer, tumour-negative margins often cannot be obtained by surgery alone. Nevertheless only patients with complete tumour resections can be cured. Different surgical options, possibly combined with neoadjuvant therapy, are available for the treatment of rectal cancer. Preoperative staging is essential to plan the correct treatment. Our aim was to assess the efficacy and tolerability of combined therapy in rectal cancer, an important aspect of which is the evaluation of the diagnostic accuracy of computed tomography in the local staging of rectal cancer. The results of the study confirm that combined preoperative therapy is well tolerated in most cases and constitutes the protocol of choice in patients with rectal cancer.