Clinical Outcomes and Safety of Different Treatment Modes for Local Recurrence of Rectal Cancer

OBJECTIVE: Optimal approaches to patients with local recurrence of rectal cancer are unclear in China. This study aimed to evaluaty -30te the clinical outcomes and toxicity associated with different treatment regimens for patients with local recurrence of rectal cancer. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of patients with local recurrence of rectal cancer and previous radical surgical treatment between March 2010 and December 2017 with curative intent was performed. Disease-related endpoints included treatment progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) using the Kaplan–Meier method. Toxicities were assessed using Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 5.0, and complications were scored according to the Clavien-Dindo classification. RESULTS: A total of 71 patients met the inclusion criteria in this study. The recurrence sites were mainly local recurrence in the pelvic cavity and regional lymph node metastasis. Twenty patients received chemoradiotherapy combined with surgery, 10 underwent surgery alone, and others received chemoradiotherapy-alone (n = 27) and chemotherapy-alone (n = 14) treatment. A clear difference was found in PFS between surgery/chemoradiotherapy with surgery and chemoradiotherapy/chemotherapy groups (26.6 months vs 14.1 months, P = 0.033). The PFS of patients in the surgery combined with chemoradiotherapy, surgery alone, and chemotherapy/chemoradiotherapy groups was 65.2 months, 20.2 months, and 14.2 months, respectively (P = 0.042). The multivariate analysis of PFS demonstrated that surgery was an independent factor. The proportion of patients with distant metastases after chemoradiotherapy/chemotherapy was higher than that of patients undergoing surgery (36.6% vs 21.4%, P = 0.179). The OS of patients in the surgery combined with chemoradiotherapy, surgery alone, and chemotherapy/chemoradiotherapy groups was 89.4 months, 66.0 months, and 62.8 months, respectively (P = 0.189). Radiation treatment and surgery did not increase extra severe toxicities. CONCLUSION: Surgery combined with chemoradiotherapy was a beneficial treatment mode for managing patients with locally recurrent, nonmetastatic rectal cancer. It was associated with better local disease control, no increase in toxicity, and prolonged survival among patients with locally recurrent rectal cancer.