title: Long-term oncologic outcomes of neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy with capecitabine and radical surgery in locally advanced rectal cancer: 10-year experiences at a single institution.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Oral capecitabine has demonstrated to be safe and efficient as neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) for locally advanced rectal cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term oncologic outcomes of NCRT with capecitabine and radical surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  From January 2000 to June 2010, 238 patients were treated at our center for locally advanced rectal cancers using conventional NCRT with capecitabine and radical surgery. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to evaluate the factors associated with oncologic outcomes with log rank and Cox regression tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The incidence of grade >3 capecitabine-related toxicity was found to be 4.6%. A pathologic complete response was observed in 14.7% of patients. The 5-year overall and 5-year disease-free survival rate, local and systemic recurrence rate were 82.8%, 75.1%, 4.8%, and 20.3%. Abdominoperineal resection and node-positive disease were independent prognostic factors of 5-year overall survival, 5-year disease-free survival, and systemic recurrence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NCRT with capecitabine and radical surgery showed favorable long-term oncologic outcomes with benefits of acceptable toxicity and convenience. We suggest that capecitabine can be one of the favorable therapeutic options for NCRT in rectal cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Chungnam National University Hospital, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung Ha
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Chungnam National University Hospital, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin Soo
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Chungnam National University Hospital, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Ji Yeon
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kim
keywords: Capecitabine; Neoadjuvant therapies; Prognosis; Rectal neoplasms