[Adjuvant therapy of rectal cancer]

Rectal cancer is a different entity compared to colon cancer due to its particular clinical therapeutic and treatment failure profile. Its anatomical situation explain the more higher frequency of loco-regional relapses compared to its colic counterpart. Adjuvant therapy of rectal cancer follow the progress obtained in colon cancer using adjuvant fluorouracil based chemotherapy and is also based on radiotherapy. This treatment is frequently used as primary to reduce tumoral volume, to improve the quality of surgery and to decrease the risk of local relapses. Doses fo 20-30 Gy seems to be the standard for bulky lesions and.