Emergency rectal cancer: clinical presentation and therapeutic options

Up to 20% of rectal cancer patients experience complications that result in an emergency presentation at diagnosis, the more frequent scenarios being represented by large bowel obstruction or perforation and tumor bleeding. The treatment of emergency rectal cancer depends both on patients' clinical conditions and risk factors, and on tumor's characteristics, primarily its intra- or extraperitoneal location. This article will address the different clinical presentations and the corresponding available treatments, with a particular focus on surgical techniques and multimodal chemoradiotherapy. In addition, it will address the prognosis of emergency rectal cancers and discuss healthcare policy strategies aimed at minimizing its occurrence.