abstract: BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To determine the percentage of complete responders and the resectability rate for @entity1 with locally advanced @entity188 treated by @entity1487 ( @entity1487 ) infusional chemotherapy and pelvic radiation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between October 1992 and June 1996, 29 @entity1 with a diagnosis of locally advanced unresectable @entity5 received preoperative 5 FU by continuous intravenous infusion at a dose of 225 mg/m2/day concurrent with pelvic radiation (median 54 Gy/28 fractions). All @entity1 were clinical stage T4 on the bases of organ invasion or @entity5 fixation. Median time for surgical resection was 6 weeks. RESULTS: Median follow-up for the group was 28 months (range 5-57 months). Six @entity1 were felt to be persistently unresectable or developed distant @entity3 and did not undergo surgical resection. Of the 29 @entity1 , 23 proceeded to surgery, 18 were resectable for cure, 13 by abdominoperineal resection, 3 by anterior resection and 2 by local excision. Of the 29 @entity1 , 4 (13%) had a complete response, and 90% were clinically downstaged. Of the 18 resected @entity1 , 1 has died of his disease, 17 are alive, and 15 disease-free. The regimen was well tolerated; there was only one treatment-related complication, a wound dehiscence. CONCLUSION: The combination of 5 FU infusion and pelvic radiation in the management of locally advanced @entity5 is well tolerated and provides a baseline for comparison purposes with future combinations of newer systemic agents and radiation.
  
entities_list.pseudoidentifier: @entity1 @entity5 @entity188 @entity3 @entity1487
entities_list.identifier: ('9606', 'Species') ('MESH:D009369', 'Disease') ('MESH:D012004', 'Disease') ('MESH:D009362', 'Disease') ('MESH:D005472', 'Chemical')
entities_list.synonyms: ['patients'] ['tumor', 'rectal cancer'] ['carcinoma of the rectum'] ['metastases'] ['5-FU', '5-fluorouracil']