Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39878151›Full record

SynthesisInternational journal of surgery (London, England)2025

Comparison of the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer patients: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

De-Xin Zeng, Ruo-Nan Liu, Xian-Kun Ren, Peng Zhang, Ling-Han Tang, Ling Tan, Rehman Zia Ur, Mao-Ru Zhao, Peng Guo, Pan Zhang and 7 more

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisComparative Study
In one paragraph

Synthesis in International journal of surgery (London, England), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

De-Xin ZengDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Clinical Medical College and The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
Ruo-Nan LiuDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Clinical Medical College and The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
Xian-Kun RenDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Medical Center Hospital of Qionglai City, Qionglai, China.
Peng ZhangDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Clinical Medical College and The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
Ling-Han TangDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Clinical Medical College and The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
Ling TanDepartment of Urology, People's Hospital Affiliated to Chongqing Three Gorges Medical College, Chongqing, China.
Rehman Zia UrDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Clinical Medical College and The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
Mao-Ru ZhaoDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Clinical Medical College and The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
Peng GuoDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Clinical Medical College and The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
Pan ZhangDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Clinical Medical College and The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
Jun DuDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Clinical Medical College and The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
Xian QinDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Clinical Medical College and The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
Shi-Yan WanDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Clinical Medical College and The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
Lu-Qian DengDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Clinical Medical College and The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
Ya-Jun LuoDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Sichuan Cancer Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
Zi-Lin LiuDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, West China TianFu Hospital, Sichuan University., Sichuan, China.
Jiang-Wei XiaoDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Clinical Medical College and The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPreoperative neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) is considered to be the standard treatment strategy for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC); however, the risk of adverse events and postoperative recurrence remains significant. This study aimed to evaluate the non-inferiority of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (nCT) compared with nCRT in patients with LARC and to assess the possibility of eliminating radiotherapy on the basis of guaranteed efficacy. MATERIALS AND

methodsWe searched the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the efficacy of nCRT and nCT for LARC. The study protocol was registered with the Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO).

resultsA total of 2706 patients from seven studies were included in the meta-analysis. There was no significant difference in overall survival (OS) or disease-free survival (DFS) between the nCT and nCRT groups. This study demonstrated a lower rate of infection (OR = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.34-0.82; P = 0.005), anastomotic leak (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.34-0.87; P = 0.01), tumor regression grade (TRG) 0-1 (OR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.36-0.69; P < 0.0001), preventive diverting ileostomy (OR = 0.41, 95% CI = 0.17-1.02; P = 0.05), and leukopenia (OR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.25-1.01; P = 0.05) in the nCT group. However, there was no significant difference in the other toxic events, such as intestinal obstruction, urinary complications, diarrhea, and surgical or pathological outcomes, such as clinical fistula, sphincter preservation, postoperative mortality (≤ 60 d), R0 resection, ypStage 0-I, positive circumferential resection margin (CRM+), or pathological complete response (pCR) between the two groups.

conclusionThis study indicated that OS and DFS were not lower in the nCT group than in the nCRT group. In addition, the nCT group had fewer complications. Preoperative nCT is expected to become a standard treatment option for most patients with stage II-III LARC. It is worth noting that radiotherapy cannot be ignored for some patients who need to ensure the conversion effect of neoadjuvant therapy and strongly request to preserve organ function.

Indexed as

ChemoradiotherapyChemoradiotherapy, AdjuvantNeoadjuvant TherapyRectal NeoplasmsChemotherapy, AdjuvantHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID39878151
PMCPMC12372722

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.