Rectal Cancer: International Perspectives on Multimodality Management is a timely analysis of the diagnosis, staging, pathology, and therapy of cancer of the rectum. This book is intended as a useful resource for physicians, scientists, medical students, and allied health personnel in the disciplines of radiology, gastroenterology, surgical oncology, medical onc- ogy, radiation oncology, and pathology. Renowned contributors from different medical d- ciplines have written their chapters in a thoughtful, provocative, and visual fashion. Importantly, these chapters highlight the controversies in the diagnostic, staging, and the- peutic management of patients with rectal cancer while providing practical management recommendations. This book is divided into 18 chapters. Early chapters address the diagnosis and staging of rectal cancer, highlighting the critical role of contemporary imaging in guiding treatment. The remaining chapters focus on the multimodality management of rectal cancer from the vantage points of surgery, pathology, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. The major dev- opments in surgery are reviewed first, including contemporary roles of local excision, total mesorectal excision, lateral pelvic lymph node dissection, organ preservation approaches, as well as the management of advanced, recurrent, and metastatic disease. Following is a ch- ter describing the pathologic evaluation of rectal cancer specimens, with emphasis on proper methodology and its clinical relevance to overall disease management. The final chapters review the contemporary roles of chemotherapy (including with radiation therapy, adjuvant and neoadjuvant settings without radiation therapy, as well as in metastatic disease) as well as radiation therapy (including adjuvant and neoadjuvant approaches, short vs.

Preface
1. Clinical Staging: Endoscopic Techniques
2. Clinical Staging: CT and MR
3. Surgery: Local Excision
4. Surgery: Total Mesorectal Excision and Lateral Pelvic Lymph Node Dissection
5. Surgery: Abdominoperineal Resection, Low-Anterior Resection and Beyond
6. Surgery: T4 and Recurrent Rectal Cancer
7. Surgery: Metastatic Disease
8. Rectal Carcinoma: Surgical and Ablative Management of Liver Metastases
9. Surgical Pathology
10. Chemotherapy: Concurrent Delivery with Radiation Therapy
11. Chemotherapy: Adjuvant and Neoadjuvant Approaches
12. Chemotherapy: Metastatic Disease
13. Radiation therapy: Adjuvant vs. Neoadjuvant therapy
14. Radiation therapy: Short vs. Long Course
15. Chemoradiation Therapy: Non-operative Approaches
16. Contact X-Ray Therapy
17. Radiation Therapy: Brachytherapy and Contact Therapy
18. Radiation Therapy: Technical Innovations