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Introduction: Recommended treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) is neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NACRT) followed by surgery and total mesorectal excision (TME). The role of adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) in this regimen is still debated. Assessment of Dworak’s tumor regression grade (TRG) after NACRT could potentially select patients who might benefit from ACT. Materials and methods: Data for patients who underwent NACRT and TME for LARC between 2007 and 2014 were retrieved from the Bordet Institute database. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were calculated for the whole population, according to whether or not they received ACT, and according to TRG. Results: We included 74 patients (38 males) with a median age of 62.7 years (33–84 years). AJCC stage cIIIb disease was the most frequent (73%). Pathologic complete response (pCR) was achieved in 13 patients (17.6%). ACT was administered to 42 patients (56.8%). Five-year OS and DFS of patients who received ACT or not were 92 and 84.5% (p = ns), and 79.9 and 84.8% (p = ns), respectively. OS was related to TRG (cut-off value of 3) (p = 0.001). ACT administration was not correlated with improved outcomes in any TRG groups. Conclusion: TRG is a prognostic factor for both OS and DFS but does not appear to have a significant benefit for the selection of patients with LARC treated with NACRT who might benefit from the administration of ACT. Prospective randomized trials with larger populations are needed to identify factors that predict which patients may benefit from the administration of ACT., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to present a case of an uncommon opportunistic fungal infection that appears in immunologically or metabolically compromised patients and is usually fatal. METHOD: A 54-year-old woman with an acute lymphoblastic leukemia had acute abdominal pain with peritoneal symptoms during her hospital stay. A laparotomy was performed and a cecal infarct firmly adherent to about 30 cm of infiltrated jejunal loop was discovered. RESULTS: Microscopic studies revealed an infiltration of the jejunal wall by abnormal lymphocytes. The cecal and ileal walls were infiltrated by leukocytes. Blood vessels were invaded by giant cells and large, unseptated, right-angle branching hyphea. CONCLUSIONS: These findings were considered typical of invasive mucormycosis of the cecum and the terminal ileum.