Timing of surgery after neoadjuvant long-course chemoradiotherapy in the management of locally advanced rectal cancer

Sir — Although preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is standard practice in the UK for the management of locally advanced rectal cancer, the optimal timing of surgery after CRT remains unclear [1,2]. Higher rates of histopathological complete response with a time interval to surgery of greater than 7 weeks have previously been reported [1,3]