Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Röntgengesellschaft ... [et al]
-
Comparative Study
Preoperative radiation with concurrent 5-fluorouracil for locally advanced T4-primary rectal cancer.
In cT4-rectal carcinoma disease-free margins often cannot be obtained by primary surgery, and even if total en bloc resection is accomplished, local failure remains high with surgery alone. Herein we report on the curative resectability rate, acute toxicities, surgical complications, local control and 5-year survival rates achieved with a more aggressive multimodality regimen, including preoperative radiochemotherapy. ⋯ A combination of high-dose preoperative radiochemotherapy followed by extended surgery can achieve clear resection margins in more than 80% of patients with locally advanced cT4 rectal tumor. An encouraging trend evolves for this multimodality treatment to improve long-term local control and survival.