About the Meeting

The Department of Surgical Gastroenterology & GI Oncology at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi, in collaboration with the Colo Rectal Cancer Research Foundation (CRCRF) and the Digestive Diseases Foundation (DDF) India, and endorsed by The Association of Colon & Rectal Surgeons of India, hosted a consensus meeting on “Controversies in Management of Rectal Cancer”. The full-day meeting brought together senior national faculty for detailed presentations and discussions aimed at building consensus on contentious issues in rectal cancer management, spanning evaluation, neo-adjuvant and adjuvant treatment, surgical approach, and special issues such as liquid biopsy and immunohistochemistry, with the goal of documenting the discussions and recommendations.

Session Highlights

Session	Focus
Session 1 – Evaluation	MRI initial & response assessment, PET MRI experience
Session 2 – Neo-adjuvant & Adjuvant Treatment	TNT vs NACRT, tailored adjuvant approach, immunotherapy
Session 3 – Surgery for Rectal Cancer	Open surgery vs minimally invasive/robotic approach
Session 4 – Pushing the Surgical Limits	Sphincter preservation, extended resections & lateral lymph nodes, Wait & Watch
Session 5 – Special Issues	Rectal cancer in IBD, ileostomy closure timing, quality of specimen, CRS with HIPEC, liquid biopsy, immunohistochemistry

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