title: [Neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy for locally advanced rectal cancer].
abstract: Not only the improvement of overall survival, but also the control of local recurrence, a unique type of recurrence, is an important issue in the treatment of advanced local rectal cancer. Total mesorectal excision is internationally accepted to be a standard procedure that lowers the rate of local recurrence. In 1999, the National Institutes of Health in the United States recommended "resection plus postoperative chemoradiotherapy" as the standard treatment for pathological stage II and III rectal cancer. In Japan, however, few large clinical trials of adjuvant radiotherapy have been performed because the rate of local recurrence in patients undergoing surgery alone is lower than that in Western countries. Multicenter, randomized, controlled studies with total mesorectal excision as a control are ongoing in Japan, and the results are awaited. We describe the current status of adjuvant chemoradiotherapy for advanced local rectal cancer in Japan and other countries, along with a review of the literature.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Surgery, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Takeo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Heita
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ozawa
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kisyu
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kumamoto
authors.forename: Takatoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Wataru
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Onozato
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamanashi
authors.forename: Yukihito
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kokuba
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ihara
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watanabe
mesh_terms: D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000379:methods*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*