Sammanfattning
Preoperative radiotherapy and improved surgery have improved treatment results in rectal cancers. The possibilities to evaluate the recurrence risk are presently performed with magnetic resonance imaging. Recommendations about appropriate therapy are multidisciplinary. There are reasons to question preoperative radiotherapy in certain individuals with intermediate risk for recurrence, implying that fewer patients in this group will be irradiated. Small early tumours can sometimes react favourably to radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy, omitting the need for surgery. This might lead to more patients being irradiated and then with long-course chemoradiotherapy.