Impact of neoadjuvant chemoradiation on pathologic response and survival of patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

Background: The impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (CT) and radiotherapy (RT) on overall survival (OS) has been controversial. Some studies have pointed to an improvement in OS and disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with pathologic complete response (pCR).

Aim: To evaluate the therapeutic response and impact on survival of preoperative RT, alone or combined with CT, in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).