Rectal cancer: could a 'Watch and Wait' strategy spare patients from major surgery?
NCT ID NCT05526079
First seen Jul 23, 2026 · Last updated Jul 24, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This trial is testing whether a 'watchful waiting' approach after chemotherapy and radiation can safely avoid radical surgery in people with a certain type of rectal cancer. Participants receive chemotherapy (FOLFOX) followed by chemo-radiation, and those whose tumors completely respond are closely monitored instead of undergoing immediate surgery. The goal is to see if this non-operative management can maintain cancer control and improve quality of life.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- neoadjuvant chemotherapy (FOLFOX) followed by chemo-radiotherapy (fluorouracil or capecitabine) and watchful waiting
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this approach could allow some rectal cancer patients to avoid major surgery and its complications while maintaining cancer control.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small, early-phase trial. The watchful waiting strategy may lead to tumor regrowth, and long-term survival outcomes are uncertain.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
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Locations
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Ascension St. John Hospital
Detroit, Michigan, 48236, United States
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