Can we Save the Rectum by Watchful Waiting or TransAnal Surgery Following (Chemo)Radiotherapy Versus Total Mesorectal Excision for Early REctal Cancer?

Summary

Bowel cancer is the second most common tumour with 41 000 new cases diagnosed annually in the UK, 447 000 across Europe and 1.36 million worldwide; of which one third are located in the rectum. Standard primary radical Total Mesorectal Excision (TME) surgery is an oncologically effective treatment for early stage rectal cancer. However, resection of a low rectal tumour requires a permanent stoma in approximately 10% of cases while many more patients have a temporary stoma, some of which are not reversed. Radical surgery, which evolved to treat locally advanced, symptomatic tumours, may not be the optimal method of treatment for early screen-detected tumours and an organ preserving strategy may generate significantly less morbidity without substantially compromising oncological outcomes. STAR-TREC is a rolling phase II/III study. Phase II aimed to assess the feasibility of a large, multi-centre randomised trial comparing radical surgery versus two contrasting organ saving treatments followed by selective transanal microsurgery. Phase III will evaluate two contrasting organ preservation strategies in terms of organ preservation rates, toxicity (clinician and patient-reported) and Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL).

Timeline

Start

2017-06-14

Primary completion

2027-08

Completion

2028-08

Publications

• Motamedi MAK, Mak NT, Brown CJ, Raval MJ, Karimuddin AA, Giustini D, Phang PT. Local versus radical surgery for early rectal cancer with or without neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023 Jun 13;6(6):CD002198. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD002198.pub3.
• Appelt AL, Kerkhof EM, Nyvang L, Harderwijk EC, Abbott NL, Teo M, Peters FP, Kronborg CJS, Spindler KG, Sebag-Montefiore D, Marijnen CAM; STAR-TREC collaborative group. Robust dose planning objectives for mesorectal radiotherapy of early stage rectal cancer - A multicentre dose planning study. Tech Innov Patient Support Radiat Oncol. 2019 Oct 15;11:14-21. doi: 10.1016/j.tipsro.2019.09.001. eCollection 2019 Sep.
• van den Ende RPJ, Peters FP, Harderwijk E, Rutten H, Bouwmans L, Berbee M, Canters RAM, Stoian G, Compagner K, Rozema T, de Smet M, Intven MPW, Tijssen RHN, Theuws J, van Haaren P, van Triest B, Eekhout D, Marijnen CAM, van der Heide UA, Kerkhof EM. Radiotherapy quality assurance for mesorectum treatment planning within the multi-center phase II STAR-TReC trial: Dutch results. Radiat Oncol. 2020 Feb 18;15(1):41. doi: 10.1186/s13014-020-01487-6.
• Rombouts AJM, Al-Najami I, Abbott NL, Appelt A, Baatrup G, Bach S, Bhangu A, Garm Spindler KL, Gray R, Handley K, Kaur M, Kerkhof E, Kronborg CJ, Magill L, Marijnen CAM, Nagtegaal ID, Nyvang L, Peters FP, Pfeiffer P, Punt C, Quirke P, Sebag-Montefiore D, Teo M, West N, de Wilt JHW; for STAR-TREC Collaborative Group. Can we Save the rectum by watchful waiting or TransAnal microsurgery following (chemo) Radiotherapy versus Total mesorectal excision for early REctal Cancer (STAR-TREC study)?: protocol for a multicentre, randomised feasibility study. BMJ Open. 2017 Dec 28;7(12):e019474. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-019474.

Drugs

Indications