Study: Chemo-Radiation Prior to Surgery Helps With Rectal Cancer

Chemotherapy and radiation prior to surgery appear to significantly improve the prognosis for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer, according to Spanish researchers.

Rectal cancer is difficult to successfully treat because new growths often occur in the same area following surgery.

But Professor Andres Cervantes of University Hospital in Valencia reported that in a study of 50 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who received chemo-radiation therapy for five weeks prior to surgery, none had suffered a local relapse two years later.

"The results were excellent," Cervantes told a meeting of the European Society of Medical Oncology. He cautioned that the cancer spread elsewhere in the body in 12 of the patients, but said this would be expected with rectal cancer.

"Our results suggest that chemo-radiation given before surgery can control the disease," said Cervantes. "Now that we know that it is possible to control cancer locally, we need to carry on with our research to find ways to control the spread of cancer to other parts of the body."

Other Sources: European Society of Medical Oncology