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Short-course radiotherapy and chemo may reduce treatment failures in high-risk rectal cancer

Publish date:: May 30, 2020

Key clinical point: A short course of radiotherapy followed by consolidative chemotherapy and then surgery significantly reduced the rate of treatment failure, compared with standard chemoradiotherapy, among patients with high-risk locally advanced rectal cancer.

Major finding: The 3-year rate of disease-related treatment failure was 23.7% for the experimental treatment and 30.4% for standard chemoradiotherapy.

Study details: Primary results of RAPIDO, a randomized phase 3 trial including 920 adult patients with rectal adenocarcinoma and high-risk features.

Disclosures: The study was sponsored by the University Medical Center Groningen. Dr. Hospers reported institutional disclosures related to Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, MSD, Novartis, Roche, and Seerave Foundation.

Citation:

Hospers GAP et al. ASCO 2020, Abstract 4006.

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