Extended surgery and pelvic exenteration for locally advanced rectal cancer. What are the limits?

Overview

Historically, locally advanced rectal cancers with invasion of tumor into adjacent organs (T4 N1, 2 tumors) have been considered poor prognosis cancers treated with palliative intent. However with the advent of multi-modality therapy and improvement in surgical reconstructive techniques, extended resections for rectal tumors are possible with acceptable patient morbidity and excellent oncological outcomes.