Preoperative radiotherapy and local excision of rectal cancer with immediate radical re-operation for poor responders

Background and purposeTo report an early analysis of prospective study exploring preoperative radiotherapy and local excision in rectal cancer.Materials and methodsMucosa at tumour edges was tattooed. Patients with cT1-3N0 tumour <3-4 cm were treated with either 5 × 5 Gy + 4 Gy boost (N = 31) or chemoradiation (50.4 Gy + 5.4 Gy boost, 1.8 Gy per fraction + 5-fluorouracyl and leucovorin; N = 13). Thirteen patients from the short-course group were unfit for chemotherapy. The interval from radiation to full-thickness local excision was 6 weeks. The protocol called for conversion to a transabdominal surgery in case of ypT2-3 disease or positive margin.ResultsThe postoperative complications requiring hospitalization were recorded in 9% of patients. The rate of pathological complete response was 41%. The rate of patients requiring conversion was 34%; however, 18% actually underwent conversion and the remaining 16% refused or were unfit. During the 14 months of median follow-up, local recurrence was detected in 7% of patients and all underwent salvage surgery. Of 19 patients in whom initially anterior resection was likely, 16% had abdominoperineal resection performed for a conversion or as a rescue procedure.ConclusionOur study suggests that the short-course radiation prior to local excision is a treatment option for high-risk patients.