Correspondence to: Emile John Tan Kwong Wei (email: emile.john.tan.k.w@singhealth.com.sg)
Department of Colorectal Surgery
Singapore General Hospital
Outram Road
169608
Singapore
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BJS, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjs/znaf284, published 17 February 2026
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Dear Editor
Thank you for the comment from Dr Yugui Lian. We have identified an error in our study, which involved the inclusion of 25 patients with proficient mismatch repair (pMMR)/microsatellite stable (MSS) status1,2. As a result, the total number of patients has been reduced from 196 to 171. However, upon re-analysis, excluding this patient group did not change the meta-analysis results for the primary outcomes (local relapse rate, recurrence-free survival (RFS), organ preservation rate) or the secondary outcome (overall survival) (1). The recalculated local relapse rate is 2.3%, RFS is 97.7%, the organ preservation rate is 97%, and overall survival remains 100%. The conclusions of the study are therefore unchanged1.
Figure 1
Forest plot for local relapse rate.
Figure 2
Forest plot for recurrence-free survival.
Figure 3
Forest plot for organ preservation rate.
References
1.Jih Huei Tan, Ian Wee Jun Yan, Jasmine Hui Er Chang, Michelle Shi Qing Khoo, Thomas Jun Yao Tan, Emile John Kwong Wei Tan. Non-operative management of mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR) / micro satellite instability-high (MSI-H) colorectal cancer treated with immunotherapy: systematic review and meta-analysis. BJS 2026;113: https://doi.org/10.1093/bjs/znaf284.
2.Xia F, Wang Y, Wang H, Shen L, Xiang Z et al. Randomized Phase II Trial of Immunotherapy-Based Total Neoadjuvant Therapy for Proficient Mismatch Repair or Microsatellite Stable Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer (TORCH). Journal of Clinical Oncology 2024;42(28):3308-3318.
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