Objective To evaluate the efficacy of chemoradiotherapy alone and prognostic factors for locally advanced rectal cancer. Methods The clinical data of 47 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who were admitted to our hospital and mostly treated with chemoradiotherapy alone from 2003 to 2010 were retrospectively analyzed. Three of the patients received radiotherapy alone. The Kaplan?Meier method was used to estimate overall survival (OS), progression?free survival (PFS), and distant metastasis?free survival ( DMFS ) rates, and the log?rank test was used for survival difference analysis and univariate prognostic analysis. The Cox regression model was used for multivariate prognostic analysis. Results In all patients, the 3?and 5?year OS rates were 53?2% and 33?2%, respectively, while the 3?and 5?year PFS rates were 37% and 31%, respectively. During the follow?up, 15 patients (32%) had local progression with PFS of 1?60 months (median PFS, 14 months);23 patients (49%) had distant metastasis with DMFS of 2?60 months ( median DMFS, 17 months) . Patients treated with high?dose radiotherapy had significantly lower 3?and 5?year local progression rates than patients treated with medium?dose radiotherapy ( 11% vs. 54%;11%vs. 57%;P=0?004). After chemoradiotherapy, 9 patients (19%) had clinical complete response (cCR), and the 3?and 5?year OS and PFS rates in those patients were all 8/9. The univariate analysis indicated that tumor distance from the anus and cCR were influencing factors for prognosis ( P= 0?026;P= 0?000 ) . However, the multivariate analysis showed that cCR was the only influencing factor for survival ( HR=12?24;95% CI, 1?64 ?91?29;P= 0?015 ) . Conclusions Chemoradiotherpay or radiotherapy alone is effective and safe in the treatment of patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who have to give up surgery or have unresectable tumors. High?dose radiotherapy may improve local control rate. Complete response to chemoradiotherapy predicts satisfactory treatment outcomes.

Objective To analyze the clinical factors for pathologic complete response ( pCR) after preoperative neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy ( neo?CRT) for locally advanced rectal cancer. Methods From 2005 to 2012, 297 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer and complete clinical data were enrolled as subjects. Those patients were diagnosed with biopsy and treated with neo?CRT ( radiotherapy by 3?dimonsional conformal radiotherapy or volumetric?modulated arc therapy) followed by radical surgery. The logistic regression model was used for the multivariate analyses of the correlation of pCR with age, gender, distance between tumor and the anal verge, serum level of carcinoembryonic antigen ( CEA ) before treatment, hemoglobin level before treatment, cT staging, and cN staging. Results In all patients, 78 ( 26?7%) patients had pCR after treatment. The numbers of patients with pCR were 42( 34?4%) in patients with stage T1?T3 disease and 37(21?1%) in patients with stage T4 disease. In the patients with serum CEA levels no higher than 5?33 ng/ml, 55(36?4%) had pCR after treatment, while in the patients with serum CEA levels higher than 5?33 ng/ml, only 24( 16?4%) had pCR. The univariate analysis revealed that age, gender, distance between tumor and the anal verge, anemia before treatment, or cN staging were not related to pCR. The multivariate analysis showed that stage cT1?T3 and a serum CEA level no higher than 5?33 ng/ml before treatment were influencing factors for pCR after neo?CRT for locally advanced rectal cancer ( P=0?031,P=0?000) . Conclusions The clinical staging and the serum CEA level before treatment are influencing factors for pCR after neo?CRT for locally advanced rectal cancer. The serum CEA level before treatment can be considered as a predictor of pCR after neo?CRT for locally advanced rectal cancer.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the feasibility of Xelox(capecitabine plus oxaliplatin) in the volumetric modulated arc therapy(VMAT)-based preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for locally advanced rectal cancer(LARC).

METHODSClinical data of 141 LARC patients in our hospital from April 2011 to April 2013 treated by preoperative CRT based on VMAT with concurrent Xelox followed by surgery were analyzed retrospectively. There were 95 men and 46 women, and the median age was 56 years old. Clinical staging was stage II( in 33 cases(18 cases with II(a, 11 cases with II(b, 4 cases with II(c) and stage III( in 108 cases(1 case with III(a, 52 cases with III(b, 55 cases with III(c). The target doses were 50 Gy for PTV1 in 25 fractions and 46 Gy for PTV2 in 23 fractions.

RESULTSAll the patients completed the planned radiotherapy, and only 2 cases were interrupted with acute grade 3 diarrhea. The overall incidence of grade 3 hematologic and non-hematologic adverse events during CRT was 9.9% and 16.3% respectively without grade 4 toxicity. Operation was performed after a median interval of 54 days(34-86 days) following CRT. The R0 resection rate was 100%, sphincter preservation rate for low rectal cancer was 45.8%(33/72), postoperative complication morbidity was 17.0%(24/141), pCR rate was 32.6%(46/141), and rates of pathological down-staging for the primary tumor, lymph node and clinical stage were 87.2%, 88% and 90.1%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSXelox is feasible and well tolerated in the treatment of VMAT-based preoperative CRT for patients with LARC, with excellent rates of pCR and pathological down-staging.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Capecitabine ; Chemoradiotherapy ; Deoxycytidine ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; Feasibility Studies ; Female ; Fluorouracil ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Neoplasm Staging ; Organoplatinum Compounds ; administration & dosage ; Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated ; Rectal Neoplasms ; pathology ; therapy ; Treatment Outcome