Biofeedback therapy helps to treat side effects of surgery to rectal cancer

This study investigated the effectiveness of biofeedback therapy in rectal cancer patients with anterior resection syndrome (ARS) after rectal surgery. Researchers reported that this therapy can improve the anal function after rectal surgery.

ARS is a common condition after rectal surgery. Patients with this condition have a higher amount of evacuations per day and more urgent evacuations and fecal incontinence (FI; uncontrolled bowel movements, causing stool to leak unexpectedly from the rectum).

Biofeedback is a method of training patients to control body processes that usually happen automatically (such as blood pressure or muscle tension). During biofeedback training, electrodes are placed on the skin that measure the process to be controlled. With the help of a therapist, the patient can learn to use mental exercises and relaxation techniques to control the processes of the body. The effectiveness of biofeedback therapy in ARS after rectal surgery in rectal cancer patients is not clear.  

The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of biofeedback therapy in ARS in rectal cancer patients. This study included information from 61 patients with ARS who underwent biofeedback training. Treatment effectiveness was evaluated using a probe that measures the ability of the rectum muscle to squeeze, the number of defecations per day and rate of FI before and after the therapy sessions.   

Of the 61 patients, 26 had FI, 15 experienced urgent evacuation and 20 experienced frequent defecation. 22 patients had more than 15 biofeedback therapy sessions.

Patients showed fewer evacuations and improvement in FI following biofeedback training. More improvements were seen in patients who had more than 15 biofeedback sessions.

Biofeedback was 91% less likely to work in patients who were smokers. Patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery (multiple small incisions in the abdomen) were 11.5 times more likely to benefit from biofeedback training.

This study determined that biofeedback could be an effective treatment for patients with ARS after surgery for rectal cancer.