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Pre-operative radiochemotherapy for rectal cancer . A prospective randomized trial comparing pre-operative vs. postoperative radiochemotherapy in rectal cancer patients . PURPOSE The aim of the study was to find out whether pre-operative radiochemotherapy had any survival advantage over postoperative radiochemotherapy for rectal carcinoma patients without distant metastasis or peritoneal carcinomatosis . MATERIAL AND METHODS Between January 1998 and December 2003 , 51 rectal carcinoma patients without distant metastasis or peritoneal carcinomatosis were randomly divided into pre-operative ( PRE ) and postoperative ( POST ) radiochemotherapy groups . Twenty-six were assigned to the PRE group and were operated on 5 to 8 weeks after the completion of radiotherapy . The other 25 patients were operated on immediately and received radiotherapy postoperatively 2 to 4 weeks after surgery . The patients were followed up for between 4 to 51 months . RESULTS In the PRE group the rates of disease-free survival were 92 % , 70 % , 56 % and 56 % at the end of the 1st , 2nd , 3rd and 4th years , respectively . In the POST group those percentages were 83 % , 68 % , 51 % and 51 % at the 1st , 2nd , 3rd and 4th years , respectively ( p = 0.707 ) . One-year and 4-year overall survival rates in the PRE group were 100 % and 86 % respectively and 100 % and 60 % in the POST group ( p = 0.520 ) . CONCLUSION No statistical difference was found between the survival rates of the rectal carcinoma patients receiving radiotherapy either pre-operatively or postoperatively . However , the disease-free survival rates of the PRE group were higher than the POST group 's during each year and overall survival rates were higher after the third and fourth years . We conclude that pre-operative radiotherapy is at least as effective as postoperative radiotherapy .
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Intervention_Physical
Pre-operative radiochemotherapy
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Intervention_Physical
pre-operative
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Intervention_Physical
postoperative radiochemotherapy
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Intervention_Physical
pre-operative radiochemotherapy
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Intervention_Physical
postoperative radiochemotherapy
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Intervention_Physical
pre-operative ( PRE )
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Intervention_Physical
postoperative ( POST ) radiochemotherapy
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Intervention_Physical
radiotherapy
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Intervention_Physical
PRE
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Intervention_Physical
POST
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Intervention_Physical
pre-operative radiotherapy
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Intervention_Physical
postoperative radiotherapy
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Outcome_Physical
survival advantage
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Outcome_Physical
rates of disease-free survival
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Outcome_Mortality
One-year and 4-year overall survival rates
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Outcome_Mortality
survival rates
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Outcome_Mortality
disease-free survival rates
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Outcome_Mortality
overall survival rates
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Outcome_Other
at least as effective as