Study: Early Radiation With Chemotherapy Improves Outcomes After Rectal Cancer Surgery

Radiation therapy that began at the same time as chemotherapy following surgery for rectal cancer significantly improved patient outcomes compared to starting the radiation later in the chemotherapy process, according to Korean researchers.

The researchers from the Asan Medical Center in Seoul reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on a randomized trial designed to help determine the optimal sequence of radiation therapy and chemotherapy following surgery for stage II and III rectal cancer.

The 308 patients taking part in the trial were divided into two groups. One group began started radiation on the first day of the first chemotherapy cycle, and the other group did not begin radiation until the third chemotherapy cycle.

The researchers reported that four years after treatment, 81 percent of the patients who began radiation at the same time they started chemotherapy were disease free, compared to 70 percent in the group that began radiation later.

"Early radiotherapy with concurrent chemotherapy after resection of stage II and III rectal cancer demonstrated a statistically significant advantage for disease-free survival compared with late radiotherapy with chemotherapy," the researchers concluded.

Other sources: Journal of Clinical Oncology