Swedish Rectal Cancer Trial: Long Lasting Benefits From Radiotherapy on Survival and Local Recurrence Rate

PURPOSE: To evaluate the long-term effects on survival and recurrence rates of preoperative radiotherapy in the treatment of curatively operated rectal cancer patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Of 1,168 randomly assigned patients in the Swedish Rectal Cancer Trial between 1987 and 1990, 908 had curative surgery; 454 of these patients had surgery alone, and 454 were administered preoperative radiotherapy (25 Gy in 5 days) followed by surgery within 1 week. Follow-up was performed by matching against three Swedish nationwide registries (the Swedish Cancer Register, the Hospital Discharge Register, and the Cause of Death Register). RESULTS: Median follow-up time was 13 years (range, 3 to 15 years). The overall…

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  National Cancer Institute