Ian Geh and Simon Radley were invited speakers at a Colorectal Cancer Masterclass held at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham on the 4th October 2017. The audience included surgeons, oncologists and specialist cancer nurses from throughout the region.
The theme of the meeting was past, present and future.

Ian talked about the application of radiotherapy for rectal cancer and its evolution over the years up to the present. He went on to give us his views about new developments in the field and the use of chemo-radiotherapy in achieving complete response in some patients with rectal cancer.

Simon talked about the evolution of surgery for rectal cancers, covering the areas of abdominoperineal excision of the rectum and the adoption of the extra-levator approach. He discussed total mesorectal excision and the application of laparoscopic, robotic and bottom up approaches to rectal cancer surgery. He discussed the surgical treatment of locally advanced and recurrent disease. Simon concluded with his thoughts on the future development of robotic surgery and other minimal access techniques.

Simon Radley and Ian Geh
6 October 2017