How do you approach disease monitoring in patients with localized rectal cancer who have received treatment with chemoradiation?
Is MRI being considered the primary mode of imaging in multidisciplinary tumor boards, especially in light of the results of the MERCURY trial (JCO 2011, 2014) which suggested that MRI-based tumor responses could predict OS and DFS?
Answer from: Medical Oncologist at Community Practice
MRI can provide useful results about tumor stage before and after re-operative chemoradiation. If tumors show a good response to chemoradiation this is a good prognostic sign. For tumors that are initially very large, another reason to do an MRI after chemoradiaiton is to see if the tumor is surgica...