Preoperative and postoperative radiotherapy for locally advanced colorectal cancer

Objective: To investigate the current situation of comprehensive treatment of rectal cancer in municipal hospitals in China after the release of the Standard Practice in Diagnosis and Treatment of Colorectal Cancer by Department of Medical Administration, Ministry of Health in 2010. Methods: A follow-up study was performed by clinic, telephone, and mail investigation of patients with rectal cancer who underwent radical resection in our hospital from January 2010 to December 2013 to assess the implementation of neoadjuvant or postoperative radiotherapy according to the Standard Practice in Diagnosis and Treatment of Colorectal Cancer. Results: In a total of 438 patients with rectal cancer, only 9 received preoperative radiotherapy. In 293 patients undergoing postoperative radiotherapy (stage T_3-4N₀M₀ or T_xN_1-2M₀), 18(6.1%) received postoperative-radiotherapy alone and 33(11.3%) received postoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy. In 242 patients (82.6%) treated without postoperative radiotherapy, 173(71.5%) were poorly informed due to misconduct of the medical staff. Conclusions: Clinical physicians do not well understand the comprehensive treatment. Particularly, the application of neoadjuvant treatment needs further studies and standardization. (authors)