OBJECTIVE: To assess local recurrence, disease-free survival, and overall survival in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-predicted good prognosis @entity5 treated by surgery alone. BACKGROUND: The MERCURY study reported that high-resolution MRI can accurately stage @entity5 . The routine policy in most centers involved in the MERCURY study was primary surgery alone in MRI-predicted stage II or less and in MRI "good prognosis" stage III with selective avoidance of neoadjuvant therapy. @entity1 AND METHODS: Data were collected prospectively on all @entity1 included in the MERCURY study who were staged as MRI-defined "good" prognosis @entity5 . "Good" prognosis included MRI-predicted safe circumferential resection margins, with MRI-predicted T2/T3a/T3b (less than 5 mm spread from muscularis propria), regardless of MRI N stage. None received preoperative or postoperative radiotherapy. Overall survival, disease-free survival, and local recurrence were calculated. RESULTS: Of 374 @entity1 followed up in the MERCURY study, 122 (33%) were defined as "good prognosis" stage III or less on MRI. Overall and disease-free survival for all @entity1 with MRI "good prognosis" @entity34 at 5 years was 68% and 85%, respectively. The local recurrence rate for this series of @entity1 predicted to have a good prognosis @entity5 on MRI was 3%. CONCLUSIONS: The preoperative identification of good prognosis @entity5 using MRI will allow stratification of @entity1 and better targeting of preoperative therapy. This study confirms the ability of MRI to select @entity1 who are likely to have a good outcome with primary surgery alone.

Preoperative high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging can identify good prognosis stage I, II, and III XXXX best managed by surgery alone: a prospective, multicenter, European study.

@entity5 :: ('MESH:D009369', 'Disease') :: ['tumor', 'rectal cancer', 'tumors'] @entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients', 'PATIENTS'] @entity34 :: ('MESH:D016609', 'Disease') :: ['stage I, II and III disease']
@entity5 :: (MESH:D009369,Disease) :: ['rectal cancer']
