Long-term outcomes of watch&wait (W&W) after neoadjuvant treatment in patients with rectal cancer
10.3760/cma.j.cn113030-20210819-00315
- VernacularTitle:直肠癌新辅助放化疗后等待观察策略疗效分析
- Author:
Ying ZHAO
1
;
Yuan TANG
;
Wenyang LIU
;
Ning LI
;
Silin CHEN
;
Jinming SHI
;
Huiying MA
;
Qiang ZENG
;
Yongwen SONG
;
Shulian WANG
;
Yueping LIU
;
Hui FANG
;
Ningning LU
;
Yu TANG
;
Shunan QI
;
Yong YANG
;
Bo CHEN
;
Yexiong LI
;
Jing JIN
Author Information
1. 国家癌症中心/国家肿瘤临床医学研究中心/中国医学科学院北京协和医学院肿瘤医院放疗科，北京 100021
- Keywords:
Rectal neoplasm, locally advanced;
Watch and wait;
Total mesorectal excision;
Complete clinical response;
Organ preservation
- From:
Chinese Journal of Radiation Oncology
2022;31(3):253-259
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To compare the outcomes of watch&wait (W&W) strategy in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who achieved complete clinical response (cCR) after neoadjuvant therapy, with those who obtained pathological complete response (pCR) after total mesorectal excision (TME).Methods:This is a retrospective cohort analysis study. Patients histologically proven with locally advanced rectal adenocarcinoma (stage Ⅱ-Ⅲ) who had received neoadjuvant chemotherapy were eligible between January 2014 and December 2019. In whom we included patients who had cCR offered management with W&W strategy after completing neoadjuvant therapy and follow-up ≥1 year (W&W group), and patients who did not have cCR but pCR after TME (pCR group). The primary endpoints were 3-year and 5-year overall survival (OS), colostomy-free survival (CFS), disease-free survival (DFS), non-local regrowth disease-free survival (NR-DFS), and organ preservation rate. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used for survival analysis and log-rank test was performed. For comparative analysis, we also derived one-to-one paired cohorts of W&W versus pCR using propensity-score matching (PSM).Results:A total of 118 patients were enrolled, 49 of whom had cCR and managed by W&W, 69 had pCR, with a median follow-up period of 49.5 months (12.1-79.9 months). No difference was observed in the 3-year OS (97.1% vs. 96.7%) and 5-year OS (93.8% vs. 90.9%, P=0.696) between the W&W and pCR groups. Patients managed by W&W had significantly better 3-year and 5-year CFS (89.1% vs. 43.5%, P<0.001), better 3-year DFS (83.6% vs. 97.0%) and 5-year DFS (83.6% vs. 91.2%, P=0.047) compared with those achieving pCR. The 3-year NR-DFS (95.9% vs. 97.0%) and 5-year NR-DFS (92.8% vs. 97.0%, P=0.407) did not significantly differ between the W&W and pCR groups. Local regeneration occurred in six cases, and 87.7% of patients had successful rectum preservation in the W&W group. In the PSM analysis (34 patients in each group), absolutely better CFS (90.1% vs. 26.5%, P<0.001) was noted in the W&W group. A median interval of 17.5 weeks was observed for achieving cCR, while only 23.9% of patients achieved cCR within 5 to 12 weeks from radiation completion. Patients with short-course sequential chemoradiotherapy achieved cCR significantly later when compared with those with long-course concurrent chemoradiotherapy (19.0 vs. 9.8 weeks, P<0.001). Conclusions:The oncological outcomes of W&W strategy in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer are safe and effective, significantly improving the quality of life. Longer interval for cCR evaluation may improve rectal organ preservation rate.
