Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Nov:14 Suppl 1:S111-9.
doi: 10.1016/S1278-3218(10)70014-7.

[Rectal cancer]

[Article in French]
Affiliations

[Rectal cancer]

[Article in French]
P Blanchard et al. Cancer Radiother. 2010 Nov.

Abstract

With 12,000 new cases each year in France, rectal cancers are a frequent entity. Concurrent fluoropyrimidin-based chemoradiation followed by a surgery including total mesorectal excision is the standard of care for locally advanced (T3-4) or node positive cancers of the mid and lower rectum. Modalities of irradiation depend on tumour location (mid versus lower rectum) and its local extension. Nevertheless, the clinical target volume (CTV) always encompasses the entire mesorectum, that goes from the peritoneal reflexion line (facing the third sacral vertebrae) to the levator ani muscles. The internal iliac lymph nodes are as well always included in the CTV. The aim of this article is to review the main epidemiological, anatomical, radiological and prognostic factors that are meaningful to define the optimal modalities of conformal radiation of rectal cancers. Definition of target volumes and organs at risk will be discussed, as well as doses and dose-constraints. A case report will be used to illustrate this article.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources