New thesis on locally recurrent rectal cancer

Karin Westberg from the research group Colorectal Surgery will defend her thesis "Locally recurrent rectal cancer: aspects on management, surgery and outcome" on December 1, 2017. Her main supervisor is Professor Anna Martling.

What´s the main focus of your thesis?

My thesis is about patients with local recurrence of rectal cancer in Sweden. I have studied data on all patients with local recurrence during a 12 year period and evaluated their assessment, treatment and prognosis.

Which are the most important results?

The major part of the patients do not receive treatment with curative intent. The prognosis is affected by factors related to both the primary tumour and the local recurrence.

How can this new knowledge contribute to the improvement of people’s health?

The thesis will contribute to a more extended knowledge about the characteristics and management of this group of patients. This new knowledge will hopefully be of use in the formulation of more specific treatment guidelines for this group of patients. This is something that is missing today.

What are your future ambitions?

In the nearest future, I will return to my job as a colorectal surgeon at Danderyd Hospital and complete the remaining work with regard to the thesis. I am also involved in a few other projects regarding local recurrence, of which one is based on MRI-investigations and another is about socioeconomic factors. After that, I hope new projects will develop.

Dissertation

Friday December 1, 2017 at 9 AM

Thesis

Locally recurrent rectal cancer: aspects on management, surgery and outcome