Anterior resection syndrome following sphincter-preserving surgery
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Anterior resection syndrome following sphincter-preserving surgery
IRAS ID
143889
Contact name
Mohamed Thaha
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
QMUL
Research summary
Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK in both males and females. The rectum is the most commonly affected part of the bowel. Improvements in surgery have meant that many patients with rectal cancer can now undergo surgery that removes the rectum and avoids a permanent stoma. The operation that most patients have is an anterior resection of the rectum.
Unfortunately this surgery frequently leads to a change in bowel function, with patients suffering from incontinence, urgency and unpredictability - a problem known as anterior resection syndrome. These problems are believed to be fairly common following surgery but follow up appointments have traditionally concentrated on ensuring that the cancer has not returned and have not reviewed functional outcomes in enough detail. Because of this we are unsure exactly how common the problems described are.
The proposed study will allow us to determine how many patients have ongoing symptoms following their surgery for rectal cancer. It will also allow us to use a newly developed scoring system the Low Anterior Resection Syndrome (LARS) score for the first time in a UK population, to ensure that it can accurately be used in the future to measure the problem and aid development of new therapies. An appreciation of the impact of symptoms on post-operative quality of life will encourage routine assessment of functional outcomes in clinical practice, allowing identification of patients who may benefit from treatment
REC name
East Midlands - Derby Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/EM/0117
Date of REC Opinion
7 Mar 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion