The incidence of local recurrence of rectal cancer after curative resection
ranges from 2.6 to 32% [1] and is related to the stage of the primitive tumor
and to the quality of the initial surgical treatment. Before the introduction of
total mesorectal excision and neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy, around 80% of
recurrences appeared within the first 2 years of surgery with an average time
of onset ranging between 6 and 12 months [2].
