Background: Treatment of rectal cancer with total mesorectal excision has changed the national strategy for treatment of this condition during the last 15 years. The aim of this article was to describe contemporary standards of treatment for rectal cancer in Norway.
Material and methods: Reports on treatment results from the Norwegian Rectal Cancer Project form the basis for this article.
Results and interpretation: During the first six years (1993 - 1999) of the Norwegian Rectal Cancer Project; the rate of local recurrence was halfed (from 18 % to 9 %), the rate of anastomotic leakage decreased from 17 % to 8 % and radically operated patients (< 75 years) had a five-year overall survival rate of 71 %. Main factors for this improvement were most certainly implementation of total mesorectal excision, centralized treatment, establishing treatment teams of dedicated experts, improved preoperative work-up and tailored treatment.