{"entity":{"id":"star-trec","kind":"trial","name":"STAR-TREC","aka":["ISRCTN14240288"],"tldr":"The UK-led trial asking whether people with rectal cancer can keep their rectum: give radiotherapy, see how the tumour responds, and operate only if it has to be removed.","summary":"STAR-TREC is the British answer to the organ-preservation question the American PROSPECT trial approached from the other direction. It randomised people with early and intermediate stage rectal cancer between total mesorectal excision and two response-adapted radiotherapy schedules, long-course chemoradiotherapy or short-course radiotherapy, each followed by assessment and either watchful waiting or local excision. Its 12-month results, published in Lancet Oncology in 2026 with Simon Bach as first author and David Sebag-Montefiore as second, are the first randomised comparison of the two radiotherapy schedules for organ preservation. NICE NG151 recommendation 1.3.7 already tells teams to warn people who defer surgery after a complete response that recurrence is possible and to encourage them into a trial with data collected in a national registry, which is what STAR-TREC provides.","status":"active","asOf":"2026-09-24","links":[{"label":"Lancet Oncology 2026: 12-month results","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42633754"},{"label":"ISRCTN14240288","url":"https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN14240288"}],"tags":["uk","rectal","organ-preservation"],"related":[],"cancers":["colorectal","rectal-cancer"],"sections":["radiation","surgery"],"technologies":[],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":["birmingham-cancer-centre","leeds-cancer-centre"],"pathways":[],"terms":["clinical-complete-response"],"trials":[],"people":["david-sebag-montefiore","dion-morton"],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"nct":"ISRCTN14240288","phase":"3","setting":"Organ preservation in early and intermediate rectal cancer: long-course chemoradiotherapy against short-course radiotherapy, both followed by response assessment and either watch and wait or local excision, against total mesorectal excision; 34 centres in England, Scotland, Wales, Denmark and the Netherlands; recruitment closed 31 December 2023, follow-up to 2027","sponsor":"University of Birmingham","participation":[{"nct":"NCT02945566","source":"https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02945566","fetchedAt":"2026-10-07T16:52:53.797Z","studySha256":"21c92959940b21492dfd602ae98c48bb6be33f6c0f26902f8c30da5c456758e2","overallStatus":"ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING","lastUpdatePosted":"2026-06-29","leadSponsor":"University of Birmingham","collaboratorCount":0,"minimumAge":"16 Years","sex":"ALL","healthyVolunteers":false,"hasEligibility":true,"enrolment":380,"enrolmentType":"ESTIMATED","siteCount":5,"recruitingSiteCount":0,"countries":["Belgium","Denmark","Netherlands","Sweden","United Kingdom"]}],"alternateParticipation":[{"registry":"ISRCTN","registryId":"ISRCTN14240288","snapshot":"/trial-participation/other/ISRCTN14240288.json","source":"https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN14240288","fetchedAt":"2026-10-07T17:01:31.769147Z","lastUpdated":"2026-08-25T10:11:55.39710852Z","hasEligibility":true,"siteCount":34,"sponsors":["University of Birmingham"]}],"yearReported":2026,"enrolled":344,"enrolledBasis":"randomised","enrolledNote":"The Lancet Oncology 2026 report of 12-month results describes the randomised population; the ISRCTN record gives recruitment from 1 November 2016 to 31 December 2023 at 34 centres.","outcomes":[]},"route":"/trials/star-trec/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"colorectal","kind":"cancer","name":"Colorectal cancer","route":"/cancers/colorectal/"},{"id":"rectal-cancer","kind":"cancer","name":"Rectal cancer","route":"/cancers/rectal-cancer/"}],"section":[{"id":"radiation","kind":"section","name":"Radiation Therapy","route":"/fronts/radiation/"},{"id":"surgery","kind":"section","name":"Surgery & Interventional","route":"/fronts/surgery/"}],"institution":[{"id":"leeds-cancer-centre","kind":"institution","name":"Leeds Cancer Centre, St James's University Hospital","route":"/institutions/leeds-cancer-centre/"},{"id":"birmingham-cancer-centre","kind":"institution","name":"University Hospitals Birmingham / University of Birmingham Cancer Research Centre","route":"/institutions/birmingham-cancer-centre/"}],"term":[{"id":"clinical-complete-response","kind":"term","name":"Clinical complete response (cCR)","route":"/terms/clinical-complete-response/"}],"person":[{"id":"david-sebag-montefiore","kind":"person","name":"David Sebag-Montefiore","route":"/people/david-sebag-montefiore/"},{"id":"dion-morton","kind":"person","name":"Dion Morton","route":"/people/dion-morton/"}]}}