Adjuvant therapy for rectal cancer

Abstract

Surgery is the only curative treatment modality in rectal cancer. However, in patients with locally advanced T3 or T4 tumors with or without nodal involvement, the risk of local and systemic recurrence is high. Adjuvant (postoperative) therapy aims to reduce the risks of local as well as distant recurrence and decrease cancer-related mortality. Postoperative chemoradiotherapy has been the gold standard. However, the adjuvant treatment of rectal cancer is continuing to evolve due to the greater use of surgical techniques such as total mesorectal excision as well as neoadjuvant (preoperative) radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy and new systemic agents. This review summarizes the various types of..