Open AccessShort-course or long-course radiation therapy as a part of a neoadjuvant regimen for stage II & III rectal adenocarcinoma?
Author(s) -
Nan Zhao,
Christopher J. Lin,
Fei Wang,
Chi Lin
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
chinese journal of cancer research/chinese journal of cancer research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1993-0631
pISSN - 1000-9604
DOI - 10.21147/j.issn.1000-9604.2019.06.01
Subject(s) - medicine , neoadjuvant therapy , regimen , radiation therapy , adenocarcinoma , stage (stratigraphy) , oncology , chemotherapy , cancer , breast cancer , paleontology , biology
The aim of this mini-review is to compare and contrast the pros and cons of short-course and long-course neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy regimens for stage II & III rectal adenocarcinoma. Multiple trials have demonstrated the equal efficacy and safety of short-course and long-course radiation therapy as a part of neoadjuvant regimens. Published data also shows that total neoadjuvant therapy could be more successful than neoadjuvant chemoradiation followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. This review points out future research directions for patients with locally advanced rectal adenocarcinoma such as comparing total neoadjuvant therapy that contains a short-course of radiation therapy to the standard of care, and evaluating how the sequence of short-course radiation therapy and chemotherapy in the total neoadjuvant therapy impacts the pathological complete response (pCR) rate, local control, and survival outcomes.