Total Neoadjuvant Therapy in Rectal Cancer

In this phase 2 study, the efficacy of total neoadjuvant therapy in Taiwanese patients with rectal cancer will be investigated. Patients with stage II or III middle/low rectal cancer will be prospective enrolled. The total neoadjuvant therapy with the short-course radiotherapy (5×5 Gy over a maximum of 8 days) followed by chemotherapy with mFOLFOX6 for 9 cycles will be administered. The primary endpoint is the complete response (CR) rate which will take into account the patients with clinical and pathological complete response.

This is a single center, single-arm, open-label, phase II study to investigate the efficacy and toxicities of total neoadjuvant therapy in patients with middle or lower rectal cancer. This study is planned to start after the approval by IRB, enroll patients for 2 years, and follow the clinical outcome for another 5 years. It will be conducted at National Cheng Kung University Hospital. Forty-two subjects will be enrolled. Patients who have newly diagnosed stage II or III, middle or low rectal adenocarcinoma will be recruited to receive the TNT treatment. The TNT includes the short-course radiotherapy (5×5 Gy over a maximum of 8 days)) followed by chemotherapy with the regimen of mFOLFOX6 for total 9 cycles