ABSTRACT
CHALLENGING CASE A 56-year-old man presented with a 5 cm rectal cancer. It was located posteriorally at 8 cm from the anal verge. The preop ultrasound suggested a T3N1 tumor. The patient received preoperative chemoradiotherapy. He had a superb clinical response with tumor shrinkage. Six weeks after completing the therapy, the patient underwent a low anterior resection with a diverting loop ileostomy. The final pathology was a T1N0 with five negative lymph nodes identified. All margins were negative. Should the patient receive postoperative chemotherapy?
