A phase II trial of neoadjuvant capecitabine combined with hyperfractionated accelerated radiation therapy in locally advanced rectal cancer

Preoperative treatment of rectal cancer with combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy has become a widely accepted strategy. The current challenge is to improve outcomes whereas minimizing morbidity and maximizing the potential for a sphincter sparing procedure. This study sought to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a combination of 2 novel approaches-accelerated, hyperfractionated radiation therapy and twice daily oral capecitabine. Consenting patients with locally advanced T3-T4, N0-1, M0 rectal adenocarcinoma, located no further than 15 cm from the anal verge, were treated with twice daily fractions of 1.2 Gy M-F to a total of 50.4 Gy for T3 lesions and 55.2 Gy for T4 lesions. Concomitantly, the patients received capecitabine 825 mg/m twice per day 7 days per week. Patients were operated on 4 to 6 weeks after completion of therapy. Sixteen of 17 enrolled patients were eligible and all 16 completed the full course of treatment including definitive surgery. Eleven patients had a sphincter sparing procedure and 5 had an abdominoperineal resection. Tumor and/or nodal downstaging occurred in 81% of patients, 100% of resections were R0, and the sphincter preservation rate was 68%. There were 18% pathologic complete remissions and 68% of specimens were node negative with an additional 12% Nx owing to transanal excision. The therapy was well tolerated and there were no unexpected toxicities with only diarrhea reaching grade 3 in 4 patients. This novel approach to preoperative treatment of rectal adenocarcinoma was well tolerated and effective. Comparison with more established approaches appears justified.