Evidence:
Therapy:
Year: 2016
Abstract
Background: Locally advanced rectal cancer is defined as a rectal mass that cannot be resected without a high probability of leaving residual disease at the tumor site. While the standard treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer is chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery, this study reports a locally invasive rectal adenocarcinoma patient who achieved complete pathological and clinical remission after receiving a combination of metabolically supported chemotherapy (MSCT), radiotherapy (RT) and hyperthermia (HT). Case presentation: An 81-year-old female underwent a rectosigmoidoscopy at a referring hospital following a complaint of bloody stools for a period of 20 days. The rectosigmoidoscopy revealed an ulcerated tumor beginning at the level of the anal sphincter. A pathological examination of biopsy material revealed moderately differentiated invasive adenocarcinoma and the patient received a diagnosis of stage III (T3N2M0) lowlying rectal cancer. When further follow-up revealed colonic obstruction, the patient was recommended an abdominoperineal resection (APR) and was referred after refusing surgical treatment. The patient received a metabolically supported combination of oxaliplatin, 5-florouracil (5-FU) and calcium folinate (FOLFOX6) concomitant to RT and local HT and, ultimately, never underwent surgery. 27 months since her disease-free PET-CT scan, the patient remains with no sign of disease recurrence. Conclusion: According to the findings of the present study, the non-surgical treatment and achievement of complete clinical and pathological remission of locally advanced rectal adenocarcinoma may be possible by means of a combination of MSCT, RT and HT. Keywords: Pathological complete response; Locally advanced rectal cancer; Metabolically supported chemotherapy; Hyperthermia
