Radiation Therapy and Fluorouracil With or Without Combination Chemotherapy Followed by Surgery in Treating Patients With Stage II or Stage III Rectal Cancer

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Trial end date: 2021-12-01

Summary

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as fluorouracil, oxaliplatin, and leucovorin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Fluorouracil may also make tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. Leucovorin calcium may protect normal cells from the side effects of chemotherapy, and it may help fluorouracil work better by making tumor cells more sensitive to the drug. Giving radiation therapy together with chemotherapy before surgery may make the tumor smaller and reduce the amount of normal tissue that needs to be removed.

PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving radiation therapy together with fluorouracil with or without combination therapy works in treating patients who are undergoing surgery for stage II or stage III rectal cancer.

• Phase: Phase 2

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
• Collaborator: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• Treatments: Calcium; Fluorouracil; Leucovorin; Levoleucovorin; Oxaliplatin