BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by radical surgery has been a common practice for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer, but the response rate varies among patients. This study aimed to develop a ResNet-Vision Transformer based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-endoscopy fusion model to precisely predict treatment response and provide personalized treatment. METHODS: In this multicenter study, 366 eligible patients who had undergone neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by radical surgery at eight Chinese tertiary hospitals between January 2017 and June 2024 were recruited, with 2928 pretreatment colonic endoscopic images and 366 pelvic MRI images. An MRI-endoscopy fusion model was constructed based on the ResNet backbone and Transformer network using pretreatment MRI and endoscopic images. Treatment response was defined as good response or non-good response based on the tumor regression grade. The Delong test and the Hanley-McNeil test were utilized to compare prediction performance among different models and different subgroups, respectively. The predictive performance of the MRI-endoscopy fusion model was comprehensively validated in the test sets and was further compared to that of the single-modal MRI model and single-modal endoscopy model. RESULTS: The MRI-endoscopy fusion model demonstrated favorable prediction performance. In the internal validation set, the area under the curve (AUC) and accuracy were 0.852 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.744-0.940) and 0.737 (95% CI: 0.712-0.844), respectively. Moreover, the AUC and accuracy reached 0.769 (95% CI: 0.678-0.861) and 0.729 (95% CI: 0.628-0.821), respectively, in the external test set. In addition, the MRI-endoscopy fusion model outperformed the single-modal MRI model (AUC: 0.692 [95% CI: 0.609-0.783], accuracy: 0.659 [95% CI: 0.565-0.775]) and the single-modal endoscopy model (AUC: 0.720 [95% CI: 0.617-0.823], accuracy: 0.713 [95% CI: 0.612-0.809]) in the external test set. CONCLUSION The MRI-endoscopy fusion model based on ResNet-Vision Transformer achieved favorable performance in predicting treatment response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and holds tremendous potential for enabling personalized treatment regimens for locally advanced rectal cancer patients.
Humans ; Rectal Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Neoadjuvant Therapy/methods* ; Aged ; Adult ; Chemoradiotherapy/methods* ; Endoscopy/methods* ; Treatment Outcome

Low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) is a common bowel dysfunction syndrome following sphincter-preserving surgery for rectal cancer, characterized by stool storage dysfunction and evacuatory dysfunction. It has become a critical factor adversely affecting patients' quality of life and long-term clinical outcomes. Currently, the pathogenic mechanisms of LARS remain incompletely elucidated, and high-quality evidence to guide clinical practice is still lacking. However, emerging evidence suggests that strategic optimization across the clinical management pathway-including precision oncology planning, surgical technique selection, multidimensional symptom profiling, proactive prevention protocols, and comprehensive symptom management-may effectively reduce LARS severity and improve survivorship outcomes. Given the absence of consensus guidelines for LARS management among clinicians across China, the Chinese Society of Coloproctology (Chinese Medical Doctor Association) organized domestic experts in relevant fields. Through systematic review of global research findings, integration of international expertise and guidelines, and adaptation to domestic clinical realities, we developed the "Chinese Expert Consensus on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Low Anterior Resection Syndrome (2025 Edition)". This consensus elaborates on key aspects including the definition, clinical manifestations, risk factors, pathophysiological mechanisms, symptom assessment, treatment modalities, and prevention strategies for LARS, aiming to standardize the diagnosis and management of LARS in China.
Humans ; Rectal Neoplasms/surgery* ; Consensus ; Postoperative Complications/therapy* ; Quality of Life ; Syndrome ; China ; Low Anterior Resection Syndrome

Rectal cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in China, with more than half of patients diagnosed at the locally advanced stage. Currently, the standard treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) primarily involves neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by radical surgery. The advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors has revolutionized the neoadjuvant treatment landscape for mismatch repair-deficient/microsatellite instability-high (dMMR/MSI-H) rectal cancer. However, most rectal cancer patients exhibit mismatch repair-proficient/microsatellite stable (pMMR/MSS) status and show poor responsiveness to immunotherapy. In recent years, multiple studies have demonstrated that neoadjuvant short-course radiotherapy followed by chemotherapy and immunotherapy can improve the pathological complete response rate in pMMR/MSS LARC patients. Nevertheless, controversies persist regarding patient selection, efficacy evaluation, adverse event management, postoperative adjuvant therapy, and follow-up strategies. Considering the Colorectal Surgery Group of the Surgery Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, in collaboration with the Colorectal and Anal Surgery Committee of the Chinese Research Hospital Association, the Chinese Colorectal Cancer Clinical Research Collaborative Group, and related experts, has developed this consensus document by referencing domestic and international research advancements. The aim is to provide standardized guidance for the clinical application of this treatment approach.
Humans ; Rectal Neoplasms/genetics* ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Immunotherapy ; DNA Mismatch Repair ; Microsatellite Instability ; Consensus ; Combined Modality Therapy

The lungs are the most common sites of metastases from non-pulmonarymalignancies. Endobronchial metastases are rare and have no specificity in clinical manifestations,thus being prone to misdiagnosis and delayed treatment.The common tumors associated with endobronchial metastasis are renal,breast,and colorectal cancers.This article reported one case of postoperative rectal cancer with endobronchial and lung metastases,which was relieved by high-frequency electrocautery ablation via bronchoscope,chemotherapy,and targeted drugs,aiming to provide a reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment.
Humans ; Rectal Neoplasms/pathology* ; Electrocoagulation/methods* ; Bronchial Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Bronchoscopy ; Lung Neoplasms/secondary* ; Bronchoscopes

This paper introduces Professor HUANG Jinchang's experience in treating low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) of rectal cancer. Based on the clinical experience in treating fecal incontinence after rectal cancer surgery, Professor HUANG Jinchang proposes that the primary pathogenesis of LARS is spleen-kidney yang deficiency with internal obstruction of damp turbidity. The treatment approach should focus on strengthening the spleen, warming the kidney, and eliminating turbidity. The Baliao acupoints are specifically selected to eliminate turbidity, promote yang , facilitate the qi flow of the viscera, and regulate the opening and closing of the anus. Emphasis is placed on deep needling at the Baliao acupoints, with flexible acupoint selection based on accompanying symptoms. Additionally, moxibustion and bloodletting cupping are used to restore regular bowel movements and improve the quality of life for patients who have undergone anus-preserving surgery for rectal cancer.
Humans ; Rectal Neoplasms/therapy* ; Acupuncture Points ; Electroacupuncture ; Male ; Female ; Fecal Incontinence/etiology* ; Postoperative Complications/etiology* ; Middle Aged ; Yang Deficiency/therapy* ; Low Anterior Resection Syndrome

Objective: To explore the efficacy of chemotherapy re-challenge in the third-line setting for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) in the real world. Methods: The clinicopathological data, treatment information, recent treatment efficacy, adverse events and survival data of mCRC patients who had disease progression after treatment with oxaliplatin-based and/or irinotecan-based chemotherapy and received third-line chemotherapy re-challenge from January 2013 to December 2020 at Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital were retrospectively collected. Survival curves were plotted with the Kaplan-Meier method, and the Cox proportional hazard model was used to analyze the prognostic factors. Results: A total of 95 mCRC patients were included. Among them, 32 patients (33.7%) received chemotherapy alone and 63 patients (66.3%) received chemotherapy combined with targeted drugs. Eighty-three patients were treated with dual-drug chemotherapy (87.4%), including oxaliplatin re-challenge in 35 patients and irinotecan re-challenge in 48 patients. The remaining 12 patients were treated with triplet chemotherapy regimens (12.6%). Among them, as 5 patients had sequential application of oxaliplatin and irinotecan in front-line treatments, their third-line therapy re-challenged both oxaliplatin and irinotecan; 7 patients only had oxaliplatin prescription before, and these patients re-challenged oxaliplatin in the third-line treatment. The overall response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) reached 8.6% (8/93) and 61.3% (57/93), respectively. The median progression free survival (mPFS) and median overall survival (mOS) were 4.9 months and 13.0 months, respectively. The most common adverse events were leukopenia (34.7%) and neutropenia (34.7%), followed by gastrointestinal adverse reactions such as nausea (32.6%) and vomiting (31.6%). Grade 3-4 adverse events were mostly hematological toxicity. Cox multivariate analysis showed that gender (HR=1.609, 95% CI: 1.016-2.548) and the PFS of front-line treatments (HR=0.598, 95% CI: 0.378-0.947) were independent prognostic factors. Conclusion: The results suggested that it is safe and effective for mCRC patients to choose third-line chemotherapy re-challenge, especially for patients with a PFS of more than one year in front-line treatments.
Humans ; Irinotecan/therapeutic use* ; Oxaliplatin/therapeutic use* ; Colorectal Neoplasms/pathology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Fluorouracil ; Colonic Neoplasms/chemically induced* ; Rectal Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/adverse effects* ; Camptothecin/adverse effects*

Currently, the standard of clinical complete response (cCR) after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) for local advanced rectal cancer generally lacks pathological examination, the cCR judged by the current standard is still far from the real pathological complete response. After nCRT, due to the presence of tissue edema and fibrosis, MRI is highly uncertain in determining the staging of local lesions. The precision of colonoscopy biopsy is generally low because residual cancer foci exist primarily in the muscular layer, which limits the determination of cCR by colonoscopy biopsy. Local excision through the anus can resect the whole intestinal wall tissue, which is relatively accurate and close to the real state of remission of the lesion, but there are many problems, such as affecting anal function, high rate of complications, and increased difficulty of following radical surgery. Based on the present diagnosis of cCR, the authors put forward the concept of modified cCR (m-cCR) which combined with the pathological standard of transanal multipoint full-layer puncture biopsy. It is possible to improve the accuracy of cCR, and improve the safety of cCR patients who receive wait-and-watch therapy without increasing complications or affecting anal function. The exact conclusion needs to be confirmed by further studies.
Humans ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Treatment Outcome ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/diagnosis* ; Watchful Waiting ; Rectal Neoplasms/surgery* ; Chemoradiotherapy

Objective: To explore the efficacy of chemotherapy re-challenge in the third-line setting for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) in the real world. Methods: The clinicopathological data, treatment information, recent treatment efficacy, adverse events and survival data of mCRC patients who had disease progression after treatment with oxaliplatin-based and/or irinotecan-based chemotherapy and received third-line chemotherapy re-challenge from January 2013 to December 2020 at Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital were retrospectively collected. Survival curves were plotted with the Kaplan-Meier method, and the Cox proportional hazard model was used to analyze the prognostic factors. Results: A total of 95 mCRC patients were included. Among them, 32 patients (33.7%) received chemotherapy alone and 63 patients (66.3%) received chemotherapy combined with targeted drugs. Eighty-three patients were treated with dual-drug chemotherapy (87.4%), including oxaliplatin re-challenge in 35 patients and irinotecan re-challenge in 48 patients. The remaining 12 patients were treated with triplet chemotherapy regimens (12.6%). Among them, as 5 patients had sequential application of oxaliplatin and irinotecan in front-line treatments, their third-line therapy re-challenged both oxaliplatin and irinotecan; 7 patients only had oxaliplatin prescription before, and these patients re-challenged oxaliplatin in the third-line treatment. The overall response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) reached 8.6% (8/93) and 61.3% (57/93), respectively. The median progression free survival (mPFS) and median overall survival (mOS) were 4.9 months and 13.0 months, respectively. The most common adverse events were leukopenia (34.7%) and neutropenia (34.7%), followed by gastrointestinal adverse reactions such as nausea (32.6%) and vomiting (31.6%). Grade 3-4 adverse events were mostly hematological toxicity. Cox multivariate analysis showed that gender (HR=1.609, 95% CI: 1.016-2.548) and the PFS of front-line treatments (HR=0.598, 95% CI: 0.378-0.947) were independent prognostic factors. Conclusion: The results suggested that it is safe and effective for mCRC patients to choose third-line chemotherapy re-challenge, especially for patients with a PFS of more than one year in front-line treatments.
Humans ; Irinotecan/therapeutic use* ; Oxaliplatin/therapeutic use* ; Colorectal Neoplasms/pathology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Fluorouracil ; Colonic Neoplasms/chemically induced* ; Rectal Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/adverse effects* ; Camptothecin/adverse effects*

Peritoneal metastatic colorectal cancer (pmCRC) is common and has been considered as the terminal stage. The theory of "seed and soil" and "oligometastasis" are the acknowledged hypotheses of pathogenesis of pmCRC. In recent years, the molecular mechanism related to pmCRC has been deeply researched. We realize that the formation of peritoneal metastasis, from detachment of cells from primary tumor to mesothelial adhesion and invasion, depends on the interplay of multiple molecules. Various components of tumor microenvironment also work as regulators in this process. Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) have been widely used in clinical practice as an established treatment for pmCRC. Besides systemic chemotherapy, targeted and immunotherapeutic drugs are also increasingly used to improve prognosis. This article reviews the molecular mechanisms and treatment strategies related to pmCRC.
Humans ; Colorectal Neoplasms/pathology* ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Peritoneal Neoplasms/secondary* ; Hyperthermia, Induced ; Colonic Neoplasms/therapy* ; Rectal Neoplasms/therapy* ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Prognosis ; Cytoreduction Surgical Procedures ; Survival Rate ; Tumor Microenvironment

Objective: Total neoadjuvant therapy has been used to improve tumor responses and prevent distant metastases in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). Patients with complete clinical responses (cCR) then have the option of choosing a watch and wait (W&W) strategy and organ preservation. It has recently been shown that hypofractionated radiotherapy has better synergistic effects with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors than does conventionally fractionated radiotherapy, increasing the sensitivity of microsatellite stable (MSS) colorectal cancer to immunotherapy. Thus, in this trial we aimed to determine whether total neoadjuvant therapy comprising short-course radiotherapy (SCRT) combined with a PD-1 inhibitor improves the degree of tumor regression in patients with LARC. Methods: TORCH is a prospective, multicenter, randomized, phase II trial (TORCH Registration No. NCT04518280). Patients with LARC (T3-4/N+M0, distance from anus ≤10 cm) are eligible and are randomly assigned to consolidation or induction arms. Those in the consolidation arm receive SCRT (25Gy/5 Fx), followed by six cycles of toripalimab plus capecitabine and oxaliplatin (ToriCAPOX). Those in the induction arm receive two cycles of ToriCAPOX, then undergo SCRT, followed by four cycles of ToriCAPOX. Patients in both groups undergo total mesorectal excision (TME) or can choose a W&W strategy if cCR has been achieved. The primary endpoint is the complete response rate (CR, pathological complete response [pCR] plus continuous cCR for more than 1 year). The secondary endpoints include rates of Grade 3-4 acute adverse effects (AEs) etc. Results: Up to 30 September 2022, 62 patients attending our center were enrolled (Consolidation arm: 34, Induction arm:28). Their median age was 53 (27-69) years. Fifty-nine of them had MSS/pMMR type cancer (95.2%), and only three MSI-H/dMMR. Additionally, 55 patients (88.7%) had Stage III disease. The following important characteristics were distributed as follows: lower location (≤5 cm from anus, 48/62, 77.4%), deeper invasion by primary lesion (cT4 7/62, 11.3%; mesorectal fascia involved 17/62, 27.4%), and high risk of distant metastasis (cN2 26/62, 41.9%; EMVI+ 11/62, 17.7%). All 62 patients completed the SCRT and at least five cycles of ToriCAPOX, 52/62 (83.9%) completing six cycles of ToriCAPOX. Finally, 29 patients achieved cCR (46.8%, 29/62), 18 of whom decided to adopt a W&W strategy. TME was performed on 32 patients. Pathological examination showed 18 had achieved pCR, four TRG 1, and 10 TRG 2-3. The three patients with MSI-H disease all achieved cCR. One of these patients was found to have pCR after surgery whereas the other two adopted a W&W strategy. Thus, the pCR and CR rates were 56.2% (18/32) and 58.1% (36/62), respectively. The TRG 0-1 rate was 68.8% (22/32). The most common non-hematologic AEs were poor appetite (49/60, 81.7%), numbness (49/60, 81.7%), nausea (47/60, 78.3%) and asthenia (43/60, 71.7%); two patients did not complete this survey. The most common hematologic AEs were thrombocytopenia (48/62, 77.4%), anemia (47/62, 75.8%), leukopenia/neutropenia (44/62, 71.0%) and high transaminase (39/62, 62.9%). The main Grade III-IV AE was thrombocytopenia (22/62, 35.5%), with three patients (3/62, 4.8%) having Grade IV thrombocytopenia. No Grade V AEs were noted. Conclusions: SCRT-based total neoadjuvant therapy combined with toripalimab can achieve a surprisingly good CR rate in patients with LARC and thus has the potential to offer new treatment options for organ preservation in patients with MSS and lower-location rectal cancer. Meanwhile, the preliminary findings of a single center show good tolerability, the main Grade III-IV AE being thrombocytopenia. The significant efficacy and long-term prognostic benefit need to be determined by further follow-up.
Humans ; Middle Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Chemoradiotherapy ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/therapeutic use* ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Prospective Studies ; Rectal Neoplasms/pathology* ; Thrombocytopenia/drug therapy* ; Treatment Outcome ; Adult ; Aged