OBJECTIVE

To document local recurrence in primary rectal cancer when standardised techniques of surgery, radiotherapy, and pathology are used, and to investigate whether the local recurrence rate after total mesorectal excision permits the omission of adjuvant short term preoperative radiotherapy.

DESIGN

Prospective randomised study.

SETTING

Dutch (n = 80), English (n = 1), German (n = 1), Swedish (n = 9), and Swiss (n = 1) hospitals.

SUBJECTS

The first 500 randomised Dutch patients with primary rectal cancer.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Local recurrence, survival, operation-related factors, specific pathological tumour characteristics, short and long term morbidity, and quality of life.

RESULTS

Between January 1996 and April 1998, 871 Dutch and 94 other patients were randomised. Our feasibility analysis shows that cooperation between and within the participating disciplines goes well. With regard to the surgical part, this can be confirmed by the large number of operations attended by consultant surgeons (58%). The number of abdominoperineal resections appeared to be low (30%), as did the percentage of lateral margins involved (13%). The rate of adverse effects of radiotherapy was acceptable. Apart from a larger operative blood loss and a higher infective complication rate in the irradiated group, no significant differences were found with regard to morbidity and mortality between the randomised groups.

CONCLUSIONS

The accrual of our trial is going well and it is feasible; short term preoperative radiotherapy is safe even in combination with TME.