Local Excision of Rectal Cancer

Local excision (LE) of early-stage rectal cancer avoids the morbidity associated with radical surgery but has historically been associated with inferior oncologic outcomes. Newer techniques, including transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) and transanal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS), have been developed to improve the quality of LE and extend the benefits of LE to tumors in the more proximal rectum . This article provides an overview of conventional LE, TEM, and TAMIS techniques, including indications for their use and pertinent literature on their associated outcomes for rectal cancer.