The Wilder West of Watch and Wait

Saturday, May 10, 2025

1:15 PM - 2:05 PM PT

Location: Ballroom 6C-F, Upper Level

Co-Moderator(s)

Jonathan S. Abelson, MD MS (he/him/his)

Staff Surgeon
Lahey Hospital and Medical Center
Tufts Medical Center
Arlington, MA, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.
Wolfgang Gaertner, MD, MSc, MBA

Professor and Chief, Colon & Rectal Surgery
University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.

All of the relevant financial relationships listed below have been mitigated.

Jonathan S. Abelson, MD MS: This individual has no financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Wolfgang Gaertner, MD, MSc, MBA: Becton Dickinson: Advisor or Review Panel Member (Ongoing), Consultant (Ongoing); Coloplast: Advisor or Review Panel Member (Ongoing), Consultant (Ongoing); Intuitive: Consultant (Ongoing), Teaching (Ongoing)

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

Define criteria for patients entering a watch and wait protocol, including tumor-specific and patient characteristics.
Discuss ways to support patients in deciding between radical surgery and a watch-and-wait approach, and identify the optimal time during treatment for having these discussions.
Discuss how to manage recurrence after clinical complete response.

CME Credit: 0.75
Self-Assessment Credit: 0.75
Contact Hours: 0.75

This symposium will address the real-world application of nonoperative management with curative intent after total neoadjuvant chemoradiation for rectal cancer, including patient selection, how to assist patients in decision-making, how to interpret post-treatment imaging and endoscopy, surveillance protocols, and management of tumor recurrence.