Wang P, Liu DC, Wang WP, Hu K. Tailoring therapy through response evaluation: A new era in the management of locally advanced rectal cancer. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2026; 18(3): 116025 [DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v18.i3.116025]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Ke Hu, MD, Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, No. 1 Shuaifuyuan Wangfujing, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100730, China. huke8000@126.com
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Oncology
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Minireviews
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This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Mar 15, 2026 (publication date) through Mar 12, 2026
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Publication Name
World Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology
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1948-5204
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Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
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Wang P, Liu DC, Wang WP, Hu K. Tailoring therapy through response evaluation: A new era in the management of locally advanced rectal cancer. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2026; 18(3): 116025 [DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v18.i3.116025]
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Mar 15, 2026; 18(3): 116025 Published online Mar 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v18.i3.116025
Tailoring therapy through response evaluation: A new era in the management of locally advanced rectal cancer
Peng Wang, Ding-Chao Liu, Wei-Ping Wang, Ke Hu
Peng Wang, Ding-Chao Liu, Wei-Ping Wang, Ke Hu, Department of Radiation Oncology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China
Co-first authors: Peng Wang and Ding-Chao Liu.
Author contributions: Wang P, Liu DC, Wang WP, and Hu K designed and performed the research study; Wang P and Liu DC analyzed the data and drafted the manuscript as co-first authors. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 62476287; National Key Research and Development Program of China, Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China, No. 2022YFC2402305; and National High Level Hospital Clinical Research Funding, No. 2025-PUMCH-A-028.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Ke Hu, MD, Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, No. 1 Shuaifuyuan Wangfujing, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100730, China. huke8000@126.com
Received: November 6, 2025 Revised: December 11, 2025 Accepted: January 8, 2026 Published online: March 15, 2026 Processing time: 126 Days and 18.9 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery is the standard treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer. Accurate post-treatment evaluation and restaging are crucial to guide subsequent treatment and prognosis prediction. While conventional methods such as imaging and endoscopy are widely used, their application is hampered by several limitations. Emerging technologies such as detection of circulating tumor DNA, multi-omics, and artificial intelligence offer new perspectives for cancer restaging. Novel therapies such as total neoadjuvant therapy and watch-and wait strategies require enhanced precision in response assessment to optimize individualized therapeutic decisions and improve prognosis in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.
