Impact of adjuvant chemotherapy on survival after pathological complete response in rectal cancer: a meta-analysis of 31,558 patients.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) typically involves neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) followed by surgery (total mesorectal excision, TME). While achieving a complete pathological response (pCR) is a strong indicator of a positive prognosis, the specific benefits of adjuvant chemotherapy after pCR remain unclear. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the potential advantages of adjuvant therapy in patients who achieve pCR.

Methods

In this study, we searched Medline, Embase, and Web of Science databases for relevant research. We focused on binary outcomes, analyzing them using odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). To account for potential variability between studies, all endpoints were a

SUBMITTER: de Moraes FCA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11196358 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature