Clinicopathological significance of fibrous tissue around fixed recurrent rectal cancer in the pelvis.

The article presents a study which investigated the clinicopathological significance of fibrous tissue around a recurrent rectal tumour in the pelvis. Results showed that the overall survival of patients with circumferential fibrosis was better than that in patients with no fibrosis. The author concluded that outcome of patients with locally recurrent rectal cancer after total pelvic exenteration with distal sacrectomy appears to be better when circumferential fibrosis is present.