Survival Rates In Advanced Rectal Cancer Patients May Be Improved By Preoperative Radiation

Main Category: Colorectal Cancer
Also Included In: Radiology / Nuclear Medicine
Article Date: 03 Dec 2008 - 7:00 PDT

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Patients treated with radiation prior to surgery for advanced rectal cancer have fewer instances of cancer recurrence and better overall survival rates, according to a recent Geisinger report.

The report examined a treatment called neoadjuvant therapy, which can reduce cancerous tumor size or limit the spread of cancer, before surgery to remove the tumor. Neoadjuvant therapy may include chemotherapy and/or radiation.

Neoadjuvant therapy should not be considered a "one size fits all" approach for rectal cancer patients, said the report's primary author, Mohammed Mohiuddin, MD, FRCR, FACR. Dr Mohiuddin is director of The Henry Cancer Center and co-director of Geisinger Health System's Cancer Institute.

"Physicians need to consider a variety of factors such as tumor size, cancer stage and patient preference before deciding on the course of preoperative treatment," said Dr. Mohiuddin, who has published extensively on the topic of radiation oncology.

The report compared the results of nine recently published research studies involving several thousand cancer patients in Europe and the United States.

Giving comparatively higher dosages of radiation reduces the likelihood that the cancer returns to the same place in the body, the report said. Short-term radiation therapy in some patients may be more convenient because it reduces the number of trips to the hospital.

In patients with late stage rectal cancer, the report supports the pre-surgical practice of combining chemotherapy with smaller radiation dosages over several weeks.

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The report appears in the November edition of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics. Drs John Marks and Gerald Marks of the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research in Wynnewood, PA served as report co-authors.

About Geisinger Health System

Founded in 1915, Geisinger Health System is one of the nations largest integrated health services organizations. Serving more than 2.6 million residents throughout central and northeastern Pennsylvania, the physician-led organization is a nationally recognized leader in the use of electronic health records, patient access and engagement in their healthcare, and in medical education for the next generation. Geisinger is comprised of three medical center campuses, a 740-member group practice, a not-for-profit health insurance company and research that extends across our large system- all dedicated to creating new models for scientific discovery, quality patient care, and successful clinical outcomes. Geisinger's Weis Center, Center for Health Research and Center for Clinical Studies include basic science, population-based and clinical trials research, complemented by collaborative relationships with top academic centers. Geisinger Ventures, the system's for profit entrepreneurial arm, seeks and promotes opportunities to speed the delivery of medical innovation to benefit patients. For more information, visit http://www.geisinger.org.

Source: Justin Walden
Geisinger Health System

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