Abstract

FLORENTIN, Lautaro M.; DULCICH, Gonzalo  and  SAVLUK, Jesica L.. Regrowth during watch-and-wait scheme in rectal cancer. Pictorial essay. Rev. argent. radiol. [online]. 2024, vol.88, n.1, pp.23-30. ISSN 1852-9992.  http://dx.doi.org/10.24875/rar.22000042.

During the last decades, the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become an strategic tool for diagnosis, staging and surveillance in patients with rectal cancer. To differentiate patients with locally advanced rectal tumors from those who do not, determinate neoadjuvant therapy or total mesorectal excision, respectively. After neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, those who achieve complete clinical response may be considered for inclusion in an active surveillance scheme known as “watch and wait” (WW). WW strategy consists of three pillars, rectal digital exam, endoscopy and the MRI, and the main purpose is to reach the early detection of tumoral regrowth. Regarding MRI, the high-resolution T2-weighted images in conjunction with DWI, and the ADC map plays a key role in this instance. WW leads to avoid resective surgeries with high morbidity rates. The rectal digital exam and endoscopy are complementaries to MRI, whose main limitation is the detection of lesions with no mucosal involvement. This reason places the MRI as a cornerstone in tumoral regrowth, detecting not only luminal regrowth, but those in which the rectal wall is not involved, and thus, not accessible for the other surveillance methods. To our knowledge, this is the first pictorial essay in which imaging regrowth patterns are described. The purpose of this is to emphasize the MRI protocol study and to describe the different forms of tumoral regrowth in order to reach the early tumoral regrowth detection.

Keywords : Rectal cancer; Watch and wait; Tumoral regrowth; Magnetic resonance imaging.

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