PREDICTIVE FACTORS FOR THE RESPONSE OF LOCAL AND ADVANCED RECTAL CANCER TO NEOADJUVANT RADIOCHEMOTHERAPY

Rectal cancer is an aggressive form of cancer whose treatment follows the next steps: neoadjuvant therapy, surgical excision, and postoperative therapy.Currently, they are trying to identify some predictive factors related to the response to neoadjuvant therapy. Among these factors there are: the characteristics of the tumor - according to the TNM classification; the character of the tumor - by monitoring Ki67 protein and mRNA, by thymidylate synthase and EGF determination, as well as independent traits such as age and sex. To the extent in which the factors mentioned anticipate the uselessness of the neoadjuvant therapy, it can be excluded from the treatment plan, which implicitly implies benefits such as reduction of the time interval elapsed until the surgical intervention, and also reduction in the duration and cost of treatment. There are also short-term benefits. The patient will no longer face deterioration in his psychological status and decreased immunity, or other adverse effects of radiochemotherapy.