Rectal cancer breakthrough: could a new drug combo save your rectum?

This study tests whether a combination of chemotherapy and radiation (total neoadjuvant therapy, or TNT) can shrink rectal tumors enough so that some patients can avoid surgery and instead be monitored closely. About 400 adults with early-stage rectal cancer will be randomly assigned to receive TNT followed by a watch-and-wait approach, or to have surgery first. The goal is to see if the non-surgical approach leads to similar survival and quality of life, while preserving the rectum.