Table 2.
Relevance of the time interval from long-course CRT to surgery on different outcomes.
| Outcome | Effect of a longer compared to a shorter interval | Reference |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Systematic overview (35) | Othera | ||
| pCR/regression | Increased (OR 1.42) | Yes | (66) |
| Surgical morbidity, predominantly wound healing, anastomotic leakage | Unchanged (RR = 0.87) (slightly decreased in one study) | Yes | (34, 65, 70, 72, 76) |
| Overall survival | Unchanged (RR = 0.85) | Yes | (66, 76) |
| Disease-free survival | Unchanged (RR = 0.81) | Yes | (34, 66, 76) |
| Local recurrence | Unchanged | (66, 70, 72) | |
| Sphincter-saving surgery | Unchanged | (65, 72) | |
| Lymph-node retrieval | Decreased | (68) | |
aOnly references not included in the systematic overview (34) are listed.