Evaluation of the effectiveness of using capecitabine versus capecitabine combined with oxaliplatin during preoperative radiotherapy for patients with rectal cancer: A retrospective cohort study

The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the clinical effectiveness of capecitabine monotherapy and that of capecitabine combined with oxaliplatin as neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy during preoperative radiotherapy in the management of low and middle rectal cancer. A retrospective cohort study was performed. Medical data were collected from individuals with locally progressing low and middle rectal cancer admitted to a regional hospital in China. Two groups of patients were formed for different chemoradiotherapy regimens: the oxaliplatin group and the capecitabine monotherapy group. Within the oxaliplatin group, the CAPEOX regimen was applied for 2 rounds during radiotherapy, intravenous infusion of oxaliplatin was administered 1 day prior to radiotherapy. In the capecitabine monotherapy group, capecitabine was implemented once daily during radiotherapy, and no medication was taken without radiotherapy. A total of 260 patients were included in the study. When oxaliplatin is administered concurrently with preoperative radiation therapy for patients with locally progressing low and middle rectal cancer, the pathologic complete remission rate can be considerably increased without appreciably increasing adverse effects or impairing postoperative recovery. On the other hand, the long-term effectiveness against metastasis and/or recurrence showed no discernible benefit.