Purpose: The aim of this study was to clarify the current status of combined modality therapy for locally recurrent rectal cancer.
Methods: Between 2000 and 2011, 43 patients(26 men and 17 women; mean age, 60 years) developed local pelvic recurrence after curative surgery. The recurrence pattern was almost equally distributed as 53% (23/43) pelvic, and 47% (20/43) pelvic and metastatic disease. Regarding the form of local recurrence, localized type and lateral spread type were present in 25 and 18 patients, respectively. In all, 24 patients underwent surgical resection for recurrent disease, and 87% of these patients underwent potentially curative surgery. The 3- and 5-year overall survival rates for patients who were treated with surgical resection were 42% and 29%, respectively. These results were significantly favorable when compared to the non-surgical group of patients who were treated with chemoradiotherapy or chemotherapy. Localized type recurrence is a statistically significant prognostic factor for improved survival compared to lateral spread type recurrence.
Conclusions: Preoperative chemoradiotherapy and surgical resection should be a standard treatment option for patients with localized type recurrence, and chemoradiotherapy is better indicated for patients with lateral spread type recurrence.