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Purpose of the study. Evaluation of the diagnostic value of vacuum-assisted biopsy (VAB) based on pathomorphological studies in patients with breast cancer (BC) who have achieved a complete clinical response (cCR) after neoadjuvant polychemotherapy (NACT).Patients and methods. In the study, conducted from 2021 to 2023 at the P. A. Hertsen Moscow Oncology Research Institute – a branch of the National Medical Research Radiology Center of the Ministry of Health of Russia, 35 patients with BC cT1–3N0–3M0 of various molecular-biological types who were diagnosed with cCR after NACT were included. All patients underwent VAB (needle size 7–10 G) of the breast followed by histological examination, after which surgical treatment was performed. Subsequently, histological conclusions of VAB and surgical materials were compared with each other for the presence and degree of pathomorphological response.Results. According to the pathomorphological conclusion when conducting VAB, the following results were obtained: 1 – true positive, 29 – true negative, 3 – false negative, and 0 – false positive. No statistically significant results of the association between complete pathomorphological response and the molecular-biological type of breast cancer were obtained (p > 0.05), however, there is a tendency towards the greatest number of complete pathomorphological responses in Her2-neu-positive (luminal – 100 %, non-luminal – 90.9 %) and triple-negative (87.50 %) types of breast cancer. The overall sensitivity of the method was 25.0 % (CI 6.8–60.2 %); specificity – 100 % (CI 88.1–100 %); false-negative result (presence of tumor cells in the surgical material and a negative result of VAB) – 9.1 % (CI 3.4–20.2 %); false-positive result (absence of tumor cells in the surgical material and a positive result of VAB) – 0 % (CI 0–10.6 %). The overall diagnostic accuracy of the method was 90.9 % (CI 79.8–96.6 %).Conclusion. The results of the conducted research allow for the consideration of excluding surgical treatment when a complete pathomorphological response is obtained by VAB. However, further research is required with the inclusion of a larger number of patients.

Objective: to compare short-term and long-term treatment outcomes between patients with lower and middle rectal cancer with complete clinical and pathomorphological response after comprehensive treatment.Materials and methods. we performed retrospective analysis of treatment outcomes in patients with lower and middle rectal cancer. The experimental group included 27 patients with complete clinical response, whereas the control group comprised 31 patients with complete pathomorphological response (ypT0n0m0) who had undergone total mesorectal excision following neoadjuvant therapy. The main evaluated parameters included postoperative complications, proportion of R0 resections, proportion of sphincter-preserving surgeries, 2-year overall survival, and progression-free survival.Results. At a median follow-up time of 41 months (range: 25–114 months), 2 patients from the experimental group had progressive disease registered 18 and 19 months after treatment initiation; both patients underwent abdominoperineal extirpation of the rectum. The remaining 25 patients had sphincter sparing surgeries. At a median follow-up time of 48 months (range: 24–101 months), one patient was found to have liver metastasis 5 months following treatment initiation. He underwent simultaneous surgery that included low anterior resection of the rectum and liver resection and had no postoperative complications. In the group of surgical treatment, all patients underwent radical surgeries (R0), including those with permanent stoma formation (n = 11; 35.5 %) or preventive stoma formation (n = 20; 64.5 %) with subsequent bowel repair. The 2-year overall survival rate was 100 % in both groups. The 2-year progression-free survival rate was 92.6 % in the experimental group and 96.8 % in the control group (p = 0.473).Conclusion. The watch and wait strategy with active dynamic follow-up is a safe alternative to surgery in patients with complete clinical response after neoadjuvant therapy, since it ensures the results equivalent to those in patients with complete pathomorphological response.

Background. Currently available chemoradiotherapy regimens for distal rectal cancer often ensure complete regression of the tumor and lymph node lesions. Therefore, patients with a complete clinical response can be managed with a “watch and wait” (ww) strategy.Objective: to evaluate 2-year overall and progression-free survival in patients with local and locally advanced rectal cancer with a complete clinical response who were managed with the ww strategy.Materials and methods. we performed retrospective analysis of treatment outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed, histologically verified, stage II–III, mrT1–2n1–2m0, T3–4n0–2m0 (within 0–10 cm of the anal verge), and mrT2n0m0 (within 0–5 cm of the anal verge) rectal cancer who had demonstrated complete clinical response to chemoradiotherapy. mandard tumor regression grade (TRg1–2) (assessed using magnetic resonance imaging of the pelvis) and palpatory/visual signs of residual tumor (assessed by digital examination and colonoscopy) were the main parameters evaluated. Overall and disease-free survival was analyzed using the Kaplan–meier method.Results. Twenty-seven patients with a complete clinical response were assigned to the ww group. mRI scans of the pelvis demonstrated that 5 patients (18.5 %) had TRg1, whereas 22 patients (81.5 %) had TRg2. T-downstaging after therapy was observed in 21 participants (77.7 %). n-downstaging was registered in all 14 patients (100 %) with regional lymph nodes affected. median follow-up time was 41 months (range: 25–114 months). Two individuals (7.4 %) developed progressive disease. Both of them had lengthy tumors as demonstrated by digital examination, colonoscopy, and magnetic resonance imaging; they immediately underwent radical surgery. The two-year overall and disease-free survival rates were 100 % and 92.6 %, respectively. Conclusion. The ww strategy with active dynamic follow-up is safe for the management of patients with local and locally advanced middle and lower rectal cancer, provided that inclusion/exclusion criteria are adhered to and patients are carefully followed-up in specialized centers.

This article demonstrates the experience of successful treatment of a patient with locally advanced rectal cancer, who received a combined treatment with a non-standard course of chemoradiotherapy in hypofractionation mode according to a prolonged program. After the end of a course of chemoradiation received the complete clinical response of the tumor.

Objective: to evaluate the results of “watch and wait” approach for rectal cancer patients with complete clinical response after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) followed by consolidation chemotherapy.Materials and methods. Between 2013 and 2016, 130 patients who were diagnosed with stage T2N0–1M0–T3(CRM+)–4N0–2M0 middle and low rectal cancer were treated by CRT (single dose 2 Gy to a total dose 50–54 Gy with concominant capecitabine 850 mg/m2 /day of radiotherapy) with consolidation chemotherapy (CapOx) (capecitabine 2000 mg/m2 14 days and oxaliplatin 130 mg/m2 intravenous once in 3 weeks).Results. 21 patient showed complete clinical response. During the time of observation (median 14.6 month) all patients alive without signs of recurrence and progression.Conclusion. Preliminary results showed that organ saving treatment for rectal cancer patients with a complete clinical response is oncologically safe when followed by strict selection criteria and active follow-up, including endoscopy and magnetic resonance imagin. Future investigation is needed to justify this statement. Probability of complete response is higher for early stages of rectal cancer.

Preoperative staging by digital examination, endorectal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows an assessment of the risk of local recurrence after surgery alone. The successful management of rectal cancer requires a multidisciplinary approach, with treatment decisions based on precise patient evaluations. Chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is associated with reduction of tumor size and downstaging.The aim of this study is to assess how often complete clinical response is achieved after eoadjuvant CRT and its concordance with pathologic complete response.Results. Patients with biopsy-proven, locally advanced rectal cancer (T3, T4) were treated by CRT followed by radical surgery. Tumors were re-assessed after 8 weeks from CRT completion using MRI and endoscopic examination. The results of examination were comparedwith the final histopathologic status.Conclusions. Neoadjuvant CRT leads to significant tumor regression and in some patients there is complete disappearance of neoplasm. MRI combining with colonoscopic findings is a useful tool to evaluate these features.