Chemo plus radiation before surgery increases tumor response for rectal cancer

Rectal cancer patients who use a new combination of the chemotherapy, Capecitabine, together with five weeks of radiation (50 Gy) before surgery have an 88 percent chance of surviving the cancer three years after treatment, according to randomized trial presented at the plenary session, October 3, 2011, at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).