RADIOTHERAPY AND

							RADIOTHERAPY AND CHEMO-RADIOTHERAPY FOR
RECTAL CANCER. STATE OF THE ART 2005
Raphael Pfeffer
Radiation Oncology Unit, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hoshomer, Israel

Radiotherapy is well established as an adjunct to surgical resection for rectal
adenocarcinoma and has been shown conclusively to improve both local control
and survival of patients with rectal cancer. In recent years several of the dilemmas
regarding adjuvant radiotherapy such as the timing of radiation (before or after
surgery) and the place of radiation for patients undergoing aggressive surgery
(such as total mesorectal excision) have been clarified in large prospective
randomized studies. The place of chemotherapy in addition to radiation and the
choice and schedule of chemotherapeutic agents has become more complicated in
recent years with the introduction of newer active agents for advanced colorectal
cancer.
Several studies of low rectal cancers have attempted to treat these patients
conservatively with chem-radiation and limited surgery.
This review will discuss the indications and choice of treatment protocol for
chemo-radiotherapy at all stages of non-metastatic rectal cancer, based on recently
reported studies and will discuss the directions of future study in this disease.