title: Preoperative Treatment of Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer: Assets and Drawbacks of Short Course and Long Course in Clinical Practice.
abstract: Preoperative short-course radiotherapy and preoperative long-course chemoradiotherapy are the standards of care for high-risk rectal cancer in different parts of the world. Both treatments are effective in local control and carry a low morbidity. The advantage of short course is its simplicity, whereas long course has the advantage of downsizing tumors thus increasing the chance of sphincter preservation. Although 2 randomized trials comparing short course and long course have been performed, the better form of preoperative treatment remains a subject of discussion. This article reviews the evidence supporting each approach, and it discusses their relative merits and future directions.
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: Sam.Ngan@petermac.org.
authors.forename: Samuel Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Ngan
mesh_terms: D059248:Chemoradiotherapy; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000379:methods; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000628:therapy*