The Impact of Time Interval to Surgery After Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy on Oncological Outcomes: A Long‐Term Follow‐Up Study on Rectal Cancer Patients

The present study revealed that pCR rates, OS, and RFS were not affected by the nCRT-surgery interval within the cohort studied. In addition, the time interval of more than 6 weeks may be safe, as no substantial difference in postoperative complications was observed between groups. The ypTNM staging was an independent predictor of OS and RFS. Moreover, APR was considered an important prognostic factor for RFS. These findings require further investigation by multicenter, large-scale studies in the future.