A systematic review comparing radiation toxicity after various endorectal techniques

A clinical complete response is seen after neoadjuvant chemoradiation for rectal tumors in 15% –20% of patients. These patients can potentially be spared mutilating total mesorectal excision surgery through a watch-and-wait policy. Recent studies show that dose escalation by a radiation boost increases the clinical complete response rate. The boost dose to the tumor can be administered thro ugh external beam radiotherapy or through internal radiotherapy using techniques like contact therapy, low-dose-rate or high-dose-rate brachytherapy (BT).

Source: Brachytherapy - November 2, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: An-Sofie Verrijssen, Thirza Opbroek, Murillo Bellezzo, Gabriel P. Fonseca, Frank Verhaegen, Jean-Pierre Gerard, Arthur Sun Myint, Evert J. Van Limbergen, Maaike Berbee Tags: Review Article Source Type: research