Low Anterior Resection and Abdominoperineal Resection

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the 4th most common cancer in the United States with over 100,000 Americans diagnosed each year with CRC; about a third of these are defined as rectal cancer. This accounts for 8% of all new cancer cases and 2nd most common cause of cancer-related death in the U.S. Approximately 4% of the population will be diagnosed with CRC in their lifetime. As of 2018, about 1.4 million in the U.S. were living with CRC diagnosis (Cancer stat facts: colorectal cancer. 2020. https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/colorect.html . Accessed 20 Apr 2023). Even in the setting of metastatic disease, one of the key tenets of colorectal cancer treatment is operation. With regards to rectal cancer, three pillars exist: chemoradiation, chemotherapy, and surgery. Within the realm of surgery, two main approaches to oncologic resection are low anterior resection (LAR) and abdominoperineal resection (APR). Both of these operations can be performed via laparoscopic, robotic, and open platforms based on surgeon preference and patient factors.