Short-course preoperative radiotherapy with immediate surgery versus long-course chemoradiation with delayed surgery in the treatment of rectal cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

摘要

Background: Long-course chemoradiotherapy (LCRT) with delayed surgery or short-course radiotherapy (SCRT) with immediate surgery is probably the most frequent regimen in the treatment of rectal cancer. Debate is still going on whether SCRT or LCRT is more effective. So we performed this meta-analysis to evaluate the safety and efficacy of SCRT with immediate surgery versus LCRT with delayed surgery for the management of rectal cancer.