Particular aspects of treating rectal cancer: The watch and wait approach.

Although the watch and wait protocol appears to be a feasible option in the management of patients with a complete clinical and pathological response post neoadjuvant therapy, more prospective studies and randomized trials comparing this approach with standard surgical treatment are required before establishing it as the standard of care for distal rectal cancer. Therefore, establishing universal criteria for the selection and assessment of the patients with a complete clinical response following neoadjuvant treatment is required.