ASCO 2022 | The TAUTEM study: transanal endoscopic microsurgery vs. total mesorectal excision

Patient quality of life is often at a detriment when using total mesorectal excision (TME) for the treatment of rectal adenocarcinom. Xavier Serra-Aracil, MD, PhD, Parc Tauli University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain, discusses preoperative, surgical and pathological outcomes from the TAUTEM study (NCT01308190), a prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled non-inferiority trial which aims to demonstrate the non-inferiority of the oncological outcomes and the improvement in morbidity and quality of life achieved with chemoradiotherapy and transanal endoscopic microsurgery (CRT-TEM) compared with TME. CRT-TEM treatment obtains high pathological complete response rates (45.3%), with a high CRT compliance rate (97.6%) and low morbidity. This interview took place at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2022 Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL.