Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Adjuvant therapy in rectal cancer: analysis of stage, sex, and local control--final report of intergroup 0114.
The gastrointestinal Intergroup studied postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy in patients with T3/4 and N+ rectal cancer after potentially curative surgery to try to improve chemotherapy and to determine the risk of systemic and local failure. ⋯ There is no advantage to leucovorin- or levamisole-containing regimens over bolus 5-FU alone in the adjuvant treatment of rectal cancer when combined with irradiation. Local and distant recurrence rates are still high, especially in T3N+ and T4 patients, even with full adjuvant chemoradiation therapy.