Combined and complex treatment options for patients with operable rectal cancer

Abstract

More than 30-year experience of the department of proctology of Russian N.N.Blokhin Cancer Research Center, which demonstrates the necessity in developing combined treatment for distal rectal cancer is presented in this article. An original treatment scheme has been developed, incorporating radiotherapy (short course 5x5 Gy) with 2 radiosensitizers and systemic cytotoxic therapy with fluorpyrimidines (capecitabine). The developed treatment scheme has acceptable toxicity and can be combined with all types of surgical interventions. A significant reduction in local and distant failures rates can be achieved as well an improvement of disease-free survival. This allows to increase indications to sphincter-sparing treatment by improving ablastics of surgery and provide high level of social rehabilitation.

Keywords

• distal rectal cancer
• neoadjuvant radiotherapy
• radiomodifiers
• tumor regression
• systemic cytotoxic therapy