Combined Therapy Disease-free survival has recently been extended in patients with Dukes' B2 and C rectal cancer treated with both chemotherapy and radiation, compared with those treated with radiation therapy alone.
Clinical trials are now evaluating 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) with radiation therapy or 5-FU + leucovorin or levamisole or both for Stages II and III (Dukes' B2 and C) rectal cancer. Combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy have been reported to improve disease-free and overall survival, with clear benefit having been shown for combination therapy with 5-FU given before and during radiotherapy .
Palliation With advanced cancer that cannot be cured, radiation therapy may be used for
palliation in most cases when it was not used before or after surgery to remove the tumor . 5-FU is often used with radiotherapy.
Short-term palliation may also be achieved with chemotherapy in about 20 percent of patients, although there is little evidence that chemotherapy significantly improves survival for those with advanced (Dukes' D) disease.
Laser therapy may be a very effective way to relieve an obstruction or control localized bleeding ( see Laser Therapy ).
