Preoperative radiation with concurrent chemotherapy for resectable rectal cancer: Effect of dose escalation on pathologic complete response, local recurrence-free survival, disease-free survival, and overall survival

PURPOSE: Three Phase II studies of preoperative radiotherapy and concurrent 5FU chemotherapy were undertaken. The primary endpoints were acute toxicity and pathologic complete response rate (pCR). Secondary endpoints were local recurrence-free survival (LRFS), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS). METHODS AND MATERIALS: A total of 134 patients with adenocarcinoma of the rectum (clinical T3/T4 or N1/N2) were treated. The …