Short-Course Radiotherapy Long-Course Radio-Chemotherapy as Neoadjuvant Treatment for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer: Meta-Analysis from a Toxicity Perspective.

Neoadjuvant treatment has become the standard of care for locally advanced rectal cancer for many years. Several neoadjuvant therapeutic options are currently used, the most common being conventionally fractionated radiotherapy (or long-course radiotherapy) administered concomitantly with chemotherapy and hypofractionated radiotherapy (or short-course radiotherapy). This meta-analysis will give a better overview of the results of several studies that compare long-course radio-chemotherapy with short-course radiotherapy, emphasizing on the severe acute and late toxicities and the postoperative results of the analyzed studies.