Many Patients With Rectal Cancer may Not Need Chemoradiotherapy: Study

New method discovered by researchers could reduce the number of patients who receive chemoradiotherapy by roughly half, with only a minimal risk of undertreatment.

It's unclear whether all patients with advanced rectal cancer need chemoradiotherapy, or whether some can forego the treatment and therefore be spared its side effects. A new BJS(British Journal of Surgery) study found that Investigators estimate that In the observational trial, 545 patients with cancer of the rectum were stratified into low-and high-risk groups. Chemoradiotherapy was administered to patients at high risk and was avoided in 42% of patients. The 3- and 5-year local recurrence rates of cancer were similarly low in patients who had surgery alone (a procedure called total mesorectal excision) versus patients who received chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery.