Local excision of distal rectal cancer: an update of cancer and leukemia group B 8984.
OBJECTIVE
The efficacy of local excision in the treatment of some early-stage distal rectal cancers is still being debated, because few high-quality, long-term prospective data on outcomes are available.


METHODS
Fifty-nine patients with T1 lesions were treated with local excision alone, whereas 51 patients with T2 lesions received external beam irradiation (5,400 cGY) and 5-fluorouracil (500 mg/m(2) intravenously Days 1-3, Days 29-31) after local excision. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to estimate the primary outcomes. The log-rank test and Cox's proportional hazards model were used to compare subgroups relative to these outcomes.


RESULTS
With a median follow-up of 7.1 (range, 2.1-11.4) years, ten-year rates of overall survival were 84 percent for patients with T1 and 66 percent for T2 rectal cancer. Disease-free survival was 75 percent for T1 and 64 percent for T2 disease. Local recurrence rates for patients with T1 and T2 lesions were 8 and 18 percent, respectively, and rates of distant metastases were 5 percent for T1 and 12 percent for T2 lesions. T stage was a statistically significant predictor of overall survival (P = 0.04) and approached statistical significance as a predictor of disease-free survival (P = 0.07).


CONCLUSIONS
Local excision alone for T1 rectal adenocarcinomas is associated with low recurrence and good survival rates that remain durable with long-term follow-up. T2 lesions treated via local excision and adjuvant therapy are associated with higher recurrence rates.
Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Jacob A
JA
Greenberg
David
D
Shibata
James E
JE
Herndon
Glenn D
GD
Steele
Robert
R
Mayer
Ronald
R
Bleday
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery*; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; D005472:Fluorouracil