Adjuvant therapy for patients with colon and rectum cancer

The National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference on Adjuvant Therapy for Patients With Colon and Rectum Cancer brought together surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, gastroenterologists, other health care providers, and the public to address the issues regarding adjuvant therapy for colon and rectum cancer. Following 1 1/2 days of presentations by experts and discussion by the audience, a consensus panel weighed the evidence and prepared a consensus statement. Among their findings, the panel recommended that patients with Stage III colon cancer should receive adjuvant therapy with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and levamisole. Specific adjuvant therapy is not recommended for Stage II colon cancer patients outside of clinical trials. For rectal cancer, the panel recommended that adjuvant therapy combining chemotherapy and radiation therapy improves local control and survival for Stage II and III patients. The most effective combination at present appears to be 5-FU, methyl-CCNU, and high-dose pelvic irradiation. However, the use of methyl-CCNU outside of clinical trials is discouraged because of documented toxicities. The panel concluded that patients with Stage I colon and rectal cancers are at low risk of recurrence and do not warrant adjuvant therapy. The panel also recommended that the American Joint Committee on Cancer system for classifying stages of colon and rectal cancer, known as the TNM system, become the standard measurement used in clinical trials and in clinical practice.