Intraoperative radiotherapy with a photonic radiosurgical system in the treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer

Aim of the study: to evaluate the results of using intraoperative radiotherapy (ioRt) in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (Rc). material and methods. a total of 172 patients with histologically confirmed stage ii-iii (pt3-4 or pN+) Rc were included in this retrospective analysis; of those, 92 (53,5 %) were treated with ioRt alone and 80 (46,5 %) received both neoadjuvant eBRt and ioRt. the median follow-up was 25 months for the ioRt group and 22 months for the eBRt/ioRt group (p=0,52). Results. the incidence of toxicity was low in both groups with an overall complication rate of 5,4 %. there were no statistically significant differences between both groups in 4-year overall survival rates (59,1 % in the ioRt group versus 67,4 % in the eBRt / ioRt group, p=0,66), progression-free survival (53,6 versus 55,1 %, p=0,51) and local progression free survival (59,4 versus 65,4 %, p=0,70). conclusion. ioRt for locally advanced Rc is a safe method that ensures adequate local control and can be considered as an effective treatment method both in an isolated version and in integration into a multimodal treatment algorithm in a specialized oncological clinics.