Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41709532›Full record

Observational studyThe British journal of surgery2026

Locoregional and systemic control after total neoadjuvant therapy with short-course radiotherapy for locally advanced rectal cancer: long-term outcomes from the LARCT-US study.

Israa Imam, Per J Nilsson, Tanweera Khan, Eva Angenete, Bengt Glimelius

Abstract readMulticenter StudyObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in The British journal of surgery, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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

5 authors.

Israa ImamDepartment of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Per J NilssonDepartment of Pelvic Cancer, Division of Coloproctology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0003-0438-5887
Tanweera KhanDepartment of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Eva AngeneteDepartment of Surgery, SSORG-Scandinavian Surgical Outcomes Research Group, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0001-9966-4904
Bengt GlimeliusDepartment of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.

Funding

Swedish Cancer Society 22 2054 Pj 01 H
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTotal neoadjuvant treatment (TNT) results in more complete responses and less risk of distant metastasis (DM) compared with chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). The best schedule and the most suitable patients are unknown. In Sweden, after the closure of the RAPIDO trial, all hospitals in five out of six healthcare regions treated LARC patients with an abbreviated RAPIDO schedule, LARCT-US. Long-term data are reported.

methodsBetween July 2016 and June 2020, LARC patients with at least one high-risk criterion for recurrence according to staging MRI (cT4, cN2, mesorectal fascia involvement <1 mm, extramural vascular involvement, lateral node involvement) received TNT consisting of 5 × 5 Gy followed by four cycles of CAPOX/six cycles of FOLFOX.

resultsCuratively treated patients (437 of 462) were analysed after a median of 6.5 (interquartile range 5.9-7.2) years of follow-up. cT4 was seen in 53.5%. Sixty-two patients with a cCR entered a watch-and-wait programme (21 patients with regrowth) and 375 patients underwent primary surgery. At 5 years, of the 437 patients, locoregional recurrence (LRR) occurred in 26 patients (5.9% (95% c.i. 3.7% to 8.2%)) and DM occurred in 108 patients (24.7% (95% c.i. 20.7% to 28.7%)). The distal resection margin was ≤10 mm in 8.3% of patients after a sphincter-saving procedure (a lower percentage than in RAPIDO). The 109 patients (24.9%) with a complete response (48 patients with a cCR sustained for >1 year after the start of radiotherapy and 61 patients with a pCR) had excellent outcomes (0% with LRR and 3.7% with DM).

conclusionTNT consisting of 5 × 5 Gy followed by four cycles of CAPOX/six cycles of FOLFOX resulted in excellent locoregional and distant control, despite inclusion of more advanced tumours than previous TNT studies. The low LRR risk in LARCT-US could be explained by more adequate distal resection margins practiced at Swedish centres.

Indexed as

Neoadjuvant TherapyRectal NeoplasmsAgedAntineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy ProtocolsFemaleFluorouracilHumansLeucovorinMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasm Recurrence, LocalNeoplasm StagingOrganoplatinum CompoundsPathologic Complete ResponseSwedenTreatment OutcomeFluorouracilLeucovorinOrganoplatinum Compounds

Identifiers

PMID41709532
PMCPMC13017942

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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.