A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial Comparing Oncological Results and Functional Recovery Between Laparoscopic and Open Method for the Treatment of Advanced Rectal Cancer After Concurrent Chemoradiation Therapy (CCRT)

This is a three-year research project. The major aims of this study are to:(1) compare the functional recovery and oncologic results in patients with advance rectal cancer treated by either traditional open or laparoscopic methods by randomized prospective clinical trials;(2) investigate the presence of tumor cells in the peripheral blood of patients undergoing either laparoscopic or open surgery; (3) searching for the clinicopathologic features of advanced rectal cancer after CCRT; (4) conduct the translational research regarding the difference of gene expression and its prognostic significance in advanced rectal cancer before and after chemoradiation therapy by micro-array analysis methods; (5) exploration of the potential stem cells of colorectal cancer using CD-133 cell surface marker.