OncoMatch/Clinical Trials/NCT07095439

Efficacy and Toxicity of Total Neoadjuvant Sandwich Treatment Via Short Course Radiotherapy in the Treatment of Stage II and III Rectal Cancer Patients

Is NCT07095439 recruiting? Yes, currently enrolling (May 2026). This Phase 2 trial studies non-drug interventions for rectal cancer.

Several trials showed that total neoadjuvant treatment (TNT) in stage II/III rectal cancer patients had better outcomes when compared with standard neoadjuvant long-course radiotherapy (CRT). Recently, based on the RAPIDO and POLISH II trials a short course radiotherapy (SCRT)-including TNT strategy had better oncologic outcomes and comparable toxicities. Moreover, cost-effectively, an SCRT-including TNT strategy is more convenient than a CRT-based TNT approach. In addition, systemic chemotherapy is often used to treat occult or micrometastatic disease in intermediate and locally advanced rectal cancer. However, the timing of chemotherapy delivery remains a topic of debate. In this context, and since rapid access to radiotherapy treatment is limited, especially in developing countries, a TNT strategy whereby adjuvant chemotherapy is replaced by systemic chemotherapy delivered before and after SCRT according to a "sandwich" treatment can avoid delays in treatment start with equivalent outcomes.