Non-surgical treatments for rectal cancer

Rectal cancer is mainly treated with surgery. In addition, there are many non-surgical treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, electrocautery, liquid nitrogen freezing, laser coagulation, placement of metal stents, gene therapy, guided therapy, immunotherapy, etc., which all play an important auxiliary therapeutic role.

1. Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is an important means of treating rectal cancer. As an adjuvant therapy for radical surgery, chemotherapy can improve the 5-year survival rate. The routes of administration include arterial infusion, portal vein administration, intravenous administration, postoperative peritoneal infusion, and hyperthermic infusion chemotherapy. The timing of chemotherapy, the formulation of combined chemotherapy regimens, and the dosage of chemotherapy drugs should be comprehensively judged based on the patient's condition and general condition to achieve individualized chemotherapy. Commonly used chemotherapy regimens include 5-fluorouracil + levamisole or folinic acid calcium, or combined with platinum.

2. Radiation therapy

Radiotherapy is often used as an adjuvant treatment for rectal cancer, which can improve the effect of surgical treatment. Preoperative radiotherapy can improve the surgical resection rate and reduce the postoperative recurrence rate of patients. For patients whose cancer lesions cannot be completely removed by surgery, radiotherapy can be used as an adjuvant to further remove the lesions. Patients with recurrent rectal cancer can also receive radiotherapy.

In addition, most of the patients with rectal cancer in my country are low-lying rectal cancer. For this type of patients, local treatment methods such as electrocautery, liquid nitrogen freezing, laser coagulation, cauterization, and metal stent placement can also be used to improve clinical symptoms. Gene therapy, guided therapy, immunotherapy and other methods are also being further studied. Although they are still in the experimental stage, their application prospects are quite broad.