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Radiotherapy and Chemoradiation for Rectal Cancer: State of the Art in Europe, the USA and Asia

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Multidisciplinary Treatment of Colorectal Cancer

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Abstract

In rectal cancer treatment, not only the local primary but also regional and systemic tumour deposits must be taken care of. The three major treatments, surgery, radiotherapy and drugs, each with their own advantages and limitations, must be combined to result in improved outcomes. Several large randomised trials, reviewed here, have proven that combinations of the three modalities have markedly improved the locoregional problem, but not yet had any major influence on the systemic problem, and thus overall survival. The best integration of the so far weakest modality, the drugs, is not known. The results of the trials are interpreted differently in the world. A new generation of trials exploring the best sequence of treatments, together with integration of the novel drugs, is required.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Oncology and Radiation Science, Uppsala University, Akademiska Sjukhuset, SE-751 85, Uppsala, Sweden

    Bengt Glimelius MD, PhD

  2. Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 76, Stockholm, Sweden

    Bengt Glimelius MD, PhD

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  1. Bengt Glimelius MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Bengt Glimelius MD, PhD .

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  1. Institute of Regional Health Science, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Gunnar Baatrup

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Glimelius, B. (2015). Radiotherapy and Chemoradiation for Rectal Cancer: State of the Art in Europe, the USA and Asia. In: Baatrup, G. (eds) Multidisciplinary Treatment of Colorectal Cancer. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06142-9_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06142-9_14

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