Postoperative pathophysiology and choice of incision / Richard P. Billingham -- Fast-track colonic surgery: status and perspectives / Henrik Kehlet -- Fast-track surgery: the Heidelberg experience / M. Kremer ... [et al.] -- Rectal cancer: a compartmental disease. The mesorectum and mesorectal lymph nodes / Susan Galandiuk, Kiran Chaturvedi, Boris Topor -- The pathological assessment of total mesorectal excision: what are the relevant resection margins? / Frank Autschbach -- Is the lateral lymph node compartment relevant? / Moritz Koch ... [et al.] -- Diagnostics of rectal cancer: endorectal ultrasound / Hanns-Peter Knaebel ... [et al.] -- Preoperative staging of rectal cancer: the MERCURY Research Project / G. Brown, I.R. Daniels -- Rectal cancer management: Europe is ahead / R.J. Heald, I. Daniels -- Teaching efforts to spread TME surgery in Sweden / Lars Peahlman, Urban Karlbom -- Learning curve: the surgeon as a prognostic factor in colorectal cancer surgery / Pietro Renzulli, Urban T. Laffer -- Surgical results of total mesorectal excision for rectal cancer in a specialised colorectal unit / KokSun Ho, Francis Seow-Choen -- Total mesorectal incision: the Heidelberg results after TME / Alexis Ulrich ... [et al.] -- Is local excision of T2/T3 rectal cancers adequate? / D.L. Beral, J.R.T. Monson -- Operative treatment of locally recurrent rectal cancer / Johan N. Wiig, Stein G. Larsen, Karl-Erik Giercksky -- Laparoscopic TME: better vision, better results? / T.H.K. Schiedeck ... [et al.] -- Laparoscopic TME: the surgeon's or the patient's preference / J. Geohl, S. Merkel, W. Hohenberger -- Laparoscopic total mesorectal excision: the Turin experience / M. Morino, G. Giraudo -- Evacuation of neorectal reservoirs after TME / J.S. Keoninger ... [et al.] -- Long-term functional results after straight or colonic J-pouch coloanal anastomosis / Guillaume Portier, Ivan Platonoff, Frank Lazorthes -- Urinary and sexual function after total mesorectal excision / Christoph A. Maurer -- Functional results of the colon J-pouch versus transverse coloplasty pouch in Heidelberg / Alexis Ulrich ... [et al.] -- Indications for neoadjuvant long-term radiotherapy / Lars Peahlman -- Neoadjuvant radiotherapy and radiochemotherapy for rectal cancer / Claus Reodel, Rolf Sauer -- Adjuvant radiochemotherapy for rectal cancer / Martina Treiber ... [et al.] -- Intraoperative radiotherapy for rectal carcinoma / Martina Treiber ... [et al.] -- Indications and effect on survival of standard chemotherapy in advanced colorectal cancer / Birgit Kallinowski -- New chemotherapeutic strategies in colorectal cancer / Markus Moehler, Andreas Teufel, Peter R. Galle -- Active specific immunotherapy in colon cancer / A.J.M. van den Eertwegh -- Radiofrequency ablation in metastatic disease / Andreas Lubienski.