Kasia Owczarczyk, MD, MRCP, FRCR, of King’s College London, London, UK, discusses how baseline diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features can predict recurrence of anal squamous cell carcinoma following chemoradiotherapy. This interview was recorded via an online conference call with The Video Journal of Oncology (VJOncology).

Paul Bernard Romesser, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, provides an overview of an investigation into long-course chemoradiation versus short-course radiation therapy for organ preservation with total neoadjuvant therapy for rectal cancer. Both long-course chemoradiation versus short-course radiation therapy achieved a complete clinical response of 46%, however, there was a higher rate of organ preservation at 2 years for patients who had long-course chemoradiation compared to short-course radiation. This interview took place at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2023 Gastrointestinal Cancers (GI) Symposium in San Francisco, CA.

These works are owned by Magdalen Medical Publishing (MMP) and are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. All rights are reserved.

Tsuyoshi Konishi, MD, PhD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, discusses the latest in non-surgical treatment strategies for patients with rectal cancer, including accurate monitoring of clinical complete response after neoadjuvant therapy. Dr Konishi additionally highlights the need for monitoring patients post-surgery, where the risk of regrowth is high, as well as salvage surgery in patients where regrowth happens. This interview took place at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2023 Gastrointestinal Cancers (GI) Symposium in San Francisco, CA.

These works are owned by Magdalen Medical Publishing (MMP) and are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. All rights are reserved.

Surgery is the standard of care for rectal cancer, and radiotherapy is typically given in advanced rectal cancer. Arthur Myint, MBBS, FRRP, FFRCS, FRCR, FICS, The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, Cambridge, UK, provides an overview of novel strategies that minimize the use of surgery. Previous research has determined that approximately half of patients receiving external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) alone will progress. Findings from the Phase III OPERA trial (NCT02505750) demonstrated that additional contact radiotherapy enhances organ preservation rates. This interview took place at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2023 Gastrointestinal Cancers (GI) Symposium in San Francisco, CA.

These works are owned by Magdalen Medical Publishing (MMP) and are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. All rights are reserved.

Rachel Riechelmann, MD, PhD, of the AC Camargo Cancer Canter, São Paulo, Brazil, discusses a retrospective multicenter study evaluating the outcomes of localized anal cancer in patients with HIV infection, and the implications this has on salvage surgeries for this indication. This interview was recorded via an online conference call with The Video Journal of Oncology (VJOncology).