Reirradiation in the Management of Locally Recurrent Rectal Adenocarcinoma

Rectal cancer recurrence after prior radiation therapy presents a difficult treatment challenge. Salvage treatment can be curative; however, it often requires multimodality therapy which can come with significant treatment-related morbidity. Reirradiation is a common part of treatment considerations in this setting and presents challenges in balancing appropriately aggressive therapy to improve disease control and cure rates with the addition of excess toxicity. Surgery remains the mainstay of curative salvage therapy for locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC) after prior radiation. Preoperative reirradiation improves R0 resection rates and local control and is associated with improved disease control outcomes. Altered fractionation and intraoperative radiation therapy are often used to improve the therapeutic ratio in the setting of reirradiation for LRRC. Herein, we discuss the evidence supporting multimodality salvage therapy for LRRC, including the importance of surgical salvage, the benefits of reirradiation, various approaches for reirradiation, and treatment-associated toxicities. Finally, we provide our recommendations for how to approach reirradiation for locally recurrent rectal cancer.