Organ preservation in rectal cancer following clinical complete response after short-course radiotherapy-based total neoadjuvant therapy.

Hypofractionated short-course radiotherapy integrated into a total neoadjuvant therapy strategy enabled response-adapted organ preservation with acceptable local regrowth-free survival in selected patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

This strategy was deliverable within a public healthcare system and achieved acceptable mid-term oncologic control. Prospective validation with longer follow-up is warranted.