Temporal Patterns of Fatigue Predict Pathologic Response in Patients Treated With Preoperative Chemoradiation Therapy for Rectal Cancer

Lower levels of fatigue at baseline and completion of CRT were significant predictors of pathologic tumor response gauged by TDS, suggesting that symptom burden may be a surrogate for tumor burden. The relationship between symptom burden and circulating cytokines merits evaluation to characterize the molecular basis of this phenomenon.