Conditions: Rectal Neoplasms
Allocation: NA | Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Enrollment: 80
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
To determine if short course radiotherapy followed by chemotherapy can maintain morbidity at or below levels reported with concurrent 5FU, oxaliplatin, and radiotherapy, while maintaining response rates comparable to what would be expected with radiotherapy and concurrent chemotherapy.

Detailed description:
Our principal objectives in this trial will be to determine if short course radiotherapy followed by chemotherapy can maintain morbidity at or below levels reported with concurrent 5FU (oral capecitabine if 5FU is unavailable), oxaliplatin, and radiotherapy, while maintaining response rates comparable to what would be expected with radiotherapy and concurrent chemotherapy. If we can establish a T stage downstaging rate that is significantly better than 50% and if acute tolerance is acceptable, then we would consider this study as having provided sufficient pilot data to support including this approach as an arm in a multi-institution phase III trial. The long-term goal is improved overall control of disease by delivering better chemotherapy earlier.

Arms:
arm 1: Radiation - 20 Gy in 5 fractions to regional nodes. 25 Gy in the same 5 fractions to macroscopic disease. This is given over 1 week.

FOLFOX Chemotherapy - after two weeks rest - oxaliplatin 85 mg/m2 and leucovorin 400 mg/m2 IV/2 hours followed sequentially by 5FU 400 mg/m2 IV push and 5FU 2400 mg/m2 over 46 hour CIVI. Repeat ever other week for a total of 4 courses (this equals 6 weeks).

If 5-FU is unavailable -- oral capecitabine can be given as 1000 mg/m2 BID on days 1-7 every 14 days.

Interventions: intervention 1: External beam radiation intervention 2: Oxaliplatin intervention 3: Leucovorin intervention 4: 5-FU intervention 5: Capecitabine
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: None intervention 2: None intervention 3: None intervention 4: None intervention 5: None

Protocol document: