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Survival following moderate‐dose preoperative radiation therapy for carcinoma of the rectum
Author(s) -
Friedmann Paul,
Garb Jane L.,
Park Won C.,
Stark Alan,
Deconti Ronald C.,
Chabot J. Richard,
Pace Omar T.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(19850301)55:5<967::aid-cncr2820550509>3.0.co;2-l
Subject(s) - medicine , rectum , radiation therapy , surgery , carcinoma , retrospective cohort study
We performed a retrospective study of patients with carcinoma of the rectum or rectosigmoid undergoing surgical resection. Forty‐two patients received adjuvant preoperative radiation therapy (4000–4500 rad). One hundred twenty patients underwent surgical resection alone. Survival of radiation patients was significantly improved over that of Surgery Only patients, even after adjusting for nontreatment factors using Cox regression. Crude 5‐year survival was 63% for radiation patients (74% adjusted) compared to 46% for surgery‐only patients (48% adjusted) ( P < 0.025). Radiation patients also had longer disease‐free survival than surgery‐only patients ( P < 0.05) and fewer recurrences (14% versus 37%; P < 0.025). Fewer radiation patients had lymph nodes involved with tumor than surgery‐only patients (20% versus 35%; P = 0.07). Although 71% of radiation patients experienced radiation reactions, these were primarily mild and transitory. We believe that preoperative radiation is an effective and safe adjunct to surgery in the treatment of rectal cancer and that its use can lead to improved survival rates.