Adjuvant therapy in rectal cancer.

Local failure in the pelvis following radical surgery for rectal cancer produces severe morbidity and responds poorly to subsequent therapy. Overall, 25% of rectal cancer patients will recur in the pelvis. The use of adjuvant pelvic radiation therapy combined with systemic chemotherapy is effective in reducing the incidence of local recurrence as well as subsequent distant metastases. Current clinical trials are evaluating various radiation-chemotherapy-surgical interactions as well as the most efficacious chemotherapy program.