Adjuvant treatment for rectal cancer: Short-course radiation vs. long-course chemoradiation

Adjuvant preoperative therapy for rectal cancer is delivered by two fractionation schedules: short-course radiation and long-course chemoradiation. Patients selected for treatment with short-course radiation included those with cT1-3 disease, whereas those selected for chemoradiation include cT3 and/or N+ disease. Therefore, retrospective comparisons were not possible. There are two randomized trials that have included patients with cT3 and/or N+ disease as well delivered sequential or postoperative chemotherapy thereby allowing a more relevant comparison with chemoradiation. New trials of short-course radiation have included patients with stages cT3 and/or N+ as well delivered sequential or chemotherapy.