Association Between Mesorectal Grade and Oncologic Outcomes in Rectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

We aimed to clarify the impact of TME grading on recurrence and survival. PubMed and Scopus were searched. The main outcome measures were local and distant recurrence and overall survival. Ten studies (2002-2023) were analyzed. Patients with incomplete TME exhibited lower overall survival (HR 0.75, p = 0.044) and higher local (RR 3.09, p = 0.001) and distant (RR 1.44, p = 0.005) recurrence rates compared to complete/near-complete TME. Complete and near-complete TME had similar risk of local recurrence, distant metastasis, and overall survival. This meta-analysis supports the crucial role of TME in rectal cancer outcomes.