title: Palliative management of rectal cancer: the roles of chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
abstract: One of the first maxims of oncologic care is that we must never miss an opportunity to cure a patient. Perhaps an equally important corollary is that to provide the best possible care for each individual, it is necessary to accurately recognize when a curative option does not exist and to adjust our treatment recommendations accordingly. A discussion of palliative care in a patient with rectal cancer must therefore be based on the assumption that the patient does not have a realistic chance of undergoing a curative intervention.
authors.affiliation: Colorectal Disease Management Team, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA. SaltzL@mskcc.org
authors.forename: Leonard B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Saltz
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015897:Comorbidity; D006801:Humans; D010166:Palliative Care; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents