Radiation Oncology Journal

The Korean Society for Radiation Oncology (대한방사선종양학회)
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The effect of radiotherapy on rectal cancer: a histopathological appraisal and prognostic indicators

  • AlQudah, Mohammad (Department of Pathology and Microbiology, School of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology) ;
  • Salmo, Emil (Department of Histopathology, The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, The Royal Oldham Hospital) ;
  • Haboubi, Najib (Department of Histopathology, Spire Manchester Hospital)
  • Received : 2020.01.14
  • Accepted : 2020.04.13
  • Published : 2020.06.30
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Abstract

The management of rectal cancer is a major undertaking. There are currently multiple treatment modalities with variable degrees of complications. Radiotherapy (RT) is one of the more frequently used modalities either on its own or more frequently with chemotherapy mostly before the definitive surgery. The outcome of RT is unpredictable. RT has its serious side effects and there are no guarantees of its usefulness in all patients. This article outlines the effect of RT on the tumor, reviews the various staging systems of responses to RT and present recent evidence of which case is less responsive to such treatments to avoid unnecessary complications.

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References

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