Intraoperative radiation therapy for rectal cancer and recurrent intra-abdominal sarcomas.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of high-dose-rate intraoperative radiation therapy (HDR-IORT) in a multimodality treatment on the local control (LC) and the overall survival (OS) rate in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC), locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC) and recurrent intra-abdominal sarcomas (RS).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on 27 patients who were treated with radical resection and HDR-IORT between April 2007 and January 2017. Patient, tumor and surgical characteristics were analyzed and the perioperative (<30 days) and long-term complications (>30 days) were assessed and graded.

RESULTS: None of the patients with LARC (n = 4) developed a local recurrence and all patients were still alive at the end of the follow-up. The LC rates of LRRC (n = 17) after one and three years were respectively 48% and 40% and the one, three and five years OS were respectively 93%, 62% and 44%. For RS (n = 6), the LC rates after one and three years were both 33% and the one and three years OS rate were respectively 83% and 46%.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study show that HDR-IORT could be a valuable asset in the multimodality management of LARC, LRRC and RS.