Can short course radiation therapy (5 Gy x 5 fractions) be given for low lying rectal tumors, near the sphincter but not involving it?   

The anal sphincter toxicity of short-course radiation therapy versus long-course chemoradiation therapy is an interesting question. We know from a robust experience in anal squamous cell carcinoma that long course radiation does carry a significant risk of sphincter tone issues in the long-term, eve...

In our published phase II trial with short course preoperative RT and neoadjuvant FOLFOX (Myerson et al., PMID 24606849), we included any medically operable patient with cT3 or cT4 disease. Accrual included 19 cases (25%) with tumors located <5 cm from the verge. Since all patients were intended ...

There probably is. The sensation of the anal canal is affected by radiation. The Dutch trial PRO data indicated significant fecal incontinence issues compared to TME. This is the more important unresolved question with short course RT. Maybe the Stockholm III data will eventually answer this, but fo...