[Low rectal cancer: conservative approach integrating radiotherapy].

During the past two decades, the general acceptance of the surgical conservative treatments in tumors such as breast cancer, bone and soft tissue sarcoma, represents one of the significant steps achieved in the treatment of solid tumors. For low rectal cancer, abdominoperineal resection is considered the standard treatment. However, conservative treatments (mono- or multimodality) seem to be as effective, provided that the selection of patients and the choice of the treatment are adequate. This opens a real perspective in favour of conservative treatments resulting already in a restriction in the indications of abdominoperineal resection. In those conservative strategies, radiotherapy has often been used, and some authors consider it essential in several clinical situations.