[Chemoradiation for rectal cancer]

Based on the results of the Study Group for Surgical Adjuvant Radiochemotherapy for Rectal Cancer and the Study Group for Surgical Therapy and Combined Irradiation in Rectal Cancer, we examined the clinical aspects of the relatively new field of chemoradiation for rectal cancer and examined improvements in the therapeutic results. Furthermore, we examined the future outlook with particular regard to selection of therapeutic drugs and autonomic nerve preserving operation.