Rectal operative bed: ?tumor? post-management changes … positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) can answer

Background Rectal cancer is a common malignancy that continues to have a highly variable outcome. Local pelvic recurrence following surgery is usually leading to incurable disease. Surgical resection with stage-appropriate combined-modality therapy is the mainstay in the treatment of rectal cancer. A difficulty has been reported in distinguishing the benign post-management findings from tumor recurrence. By adding the metabolic changes to the...