Clinical results of tumor shrinkage and evaluation of quality of life in low rectal carcinoma after preoperative combined treatment

To improve the surgical rate and the quality of life (QOL) for patients with advanced low rectal carcinoma, we investigated whether preoperative treatments (irradiation and hyperthermia and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) suppository, irradiation and hyperthermia, irradiation and 5-FU suppository, irradiation alone and 5-FU suppository alone) were useful. The tumor shrinkage rate after preoperative treatments was highest in the irradiation, hyperthermia and 5-FU suppository group. Pathologically complete regression was observed in the 2 of 18 cases (12%). According to our criteria of histological changes, the irradiation, hyperthermia and 5-FU suppository group showed the greatest effectiveness. The 4 year postoperative survival rate and the 4 year local recurrence rate were 100% and 8% in the irradiation, hyperthermia and 5-FU suppository group and the data suggest that these results were the best of the 5 treatments. After the carcinoma was shrunk after irradiation, hyperthermia and 5-FU suppository, the patients could receive curatively a sphincter-saving operation (super-low anterior resection and transanal rectal resection). The fecal continence of 7 patients after sphincter-saving operations was increased as good by manometric study, defecography and clinical evaluation. In conclusion, our data suggest that the preoperative combined treatment of irradiation, hyperthermia and 5-FU suppository prevents local recurrence and increases the possibility of a sphincter-saving operation for advanced rectal carcinoma. (author)