Results of preoperative chemotherapy for rectal cancer

Immediate response to combined modality treatment was analyzed in 146 rectal cancer patients. The patients of the studied group (n=44) received neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy followed by radical surgery. The control group patients received only surgery and neoadjuvant radiation therapy. The short-term results after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy were found to be significantly higher than those obtained after other treatment modalities.