Year: 2024
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) poses unique challenges in treatment, with current neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NA-CRT) showing limitations. The CapeOX regimen emerges as a potential less aggressive neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for LARC. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study involving treatment-naïve patients with LARC from March 2014 to March 2021 who received 2-4 cycles of CapeOX NAC followed by radical surgery. Treatment response was evaluated using tumor regression grade (TRG), MRI-based TRG (MRI-TRG), and Neoadjuvant Rectal (NAR) score. RESULTS: 94.7% of patients experienced symptom improvement and 96.4% achieved sphincter-preserving surgery. Post-NAC showed significant tumor regression and MRI confirmed a tumor length reduction (P < 0.001). Clinical and pathological staging discrepancies post-NAC suggest broader therapeutic advantages. 5-year overall and disease-free survival rates were 78.4% and 73.4%. NAR scores provided better prognostic accuracy than MRI-TRG. CONCLUSION: CapeOX NAC presents notable benefits for LARC patients and its clinical significance may be underestimated. The NAR score demonstrates superior prognostic value over MRI-TRG.
Source: BMC Cancer
Authors: Tianan Guo, Kai Liu, Yang Guo, Huan Zhang, Zhonglin Zhu, Dan Huang, Sanjun Cai, Tong Tong, Xiaoyan Zhou, Ye Xu
Language: English
Subfield: Oncology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,190
Award: G7528418888
OpenAlex ID: W4403260149