Rectal Cancer Diagnosis: What Happens Next?

Once all diagnostic steps have been completed, the findings are discussed in an interdisciplinary tumor board. There, specialists from radiology, radiation oncology, gastroenterology, surgery, pathology, and oncology collaborate to determine the optimal treatment strategy. For locally confined tumors, organ-preserving therapy may be pursued. During the course of treatment, the response is continuously monitored and re-evaluated by the tumor board, as successful organ preservation is only possible with complete tumor response.