Tele-Expert Consultation for Locally Recurrent Rectal Cancer: A Prospective Multicenter Evaluation of the CONNECT-LR...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Surgical Oncology
• Digital Health

Background:

• Locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC) presents complex management challenges.
• Optimal treatment requires specialized expertise for accurate resectability assessment.
• Access to subspecialty care for LRRC can be geographically limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utilization and clinical impact of the CONNECT-LR teleconsultation system.
• To assess CONNECT-LR's effectiveness in resectability evaluation for LRRC.
• To determine the system's role in facilitating clinical trial referrals for LRRC.

Main Methods:

• A multicenter, prospective observational study of the CONNECT-LR platform.
• Secure submission of anonymized clinical and imaging data by referring physicians.
• Consultant response within one week, followed by data analysis of consultation outcomes and user satisfaction.

Main Results:

• 77 consultations were conducted, primarily for resectability assessment (71.4%).
• Consultants reclassified 70.6% of initially unresectable/uncertain LRRC cases as resectable.
• Surgical resection was performed in 44.1% of these cases, with high user satisfaction reported.

Conclusions:

• CONNECT-LR effectively provides expert judgment, improving resectability assessments for LRRC.
• The platform increases access to curative-intent surgery and clinical trial participation.
• CONNECT-LR is a feasible, scalable model to reduce disparities and expand access to specialized LRRC care.