Rectal NeoplasmsNCT05496491
Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy and Consolidation Chemotherapy for Rectal Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Trial
A study testing Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy, Adjuvant Chemotherapy and Consolidation Chemotherapy in people with Rectal Neoplasms, run by Larissa University Hospital at 1 site in Greece.
Trial summary
The purpose of this protocol is to compare neoadjuvant chemoradiation plus consolidation chemotherapy before surgical resection with the standard neoadjuvant chemoradiation followed by surgical resection and adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with rectal cancer. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 80 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Rectal Neoplasms
- What is being tested?
- Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy, Adjuvant Chemotherapy and Consolidation Chemotherapy
- Type of treatment
- Surgery or procedure
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 84 participants
- Where
- 1 siteGreece
- Study dates
- 30 Aug 2022to 30 Aug 2029
- Phase
- Interventional
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 80 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Histologically confirmed rectal adenocarcinoma
- cT3, cT4, threatened CRM / MRF, EMVI (+), ≥N1
- Multidisciplinary tumor board decision for neoadjuvant treatment
- Tumor distance from the anal verge <15 cm based on endoscopy or magnetic resonance imaging
- Patient 18 to 80 years old
- General health condition status WHO 0-1
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- Absence of co-morbidities that may affect treatment
- Neutrophils >1,500 / mm3, platelets >100,000 / mm3, hemoglobin> 10 g / dL, normal creatinine, and creatinine clearance> 50 mL / min
- Signed informed consent of the patient
Who cannot join
- Distant metastases
- Non-resectable cancer
- Contraindications for the administration of chemotherapy
- Previous pelvic radiotherapy or chemotherapy
- History of inflammatory bowel disorders
- History of angina, acute myocardial infarction or heart failure
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- Active sepsis or systemic infection
- Untreated physical and mental disability
- Synchronous malignancy
- Pregnancy or breast-feeding
- Lack of compliance with the protocol process
- Non-granting of signed informed consent
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
Greece1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Department of Surgery, University Hospital of Larissa
Larissa, 41110
Konstantinos Perivoliotis, MD, 00302413501000, kperi19@gmail.com
George Tzovaras, Professor, 00302413502804, gtzovaras@hotmail.com
About this study
The purpose of this protocol is to compare neoadjuvant chemoradiation plus consolidation chemotherapy before surgical resection with the standard neoadjuvant chemoradiation followed by surgical resection and adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with rectal cancer.
Read the detailed description
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. It is estimated that 10% of cancer mortality is attributed to malignant neoplasms of the colon and rectum. More specifically, in the United States alone, 53,200 colorectal cancer deaths were reported.
The current treatment of choice for locally advanced rectal cancer (Stage II/ III) is the combination of neoadjuvant chemoradiation followed by radical surgical resection based on the principles of total mesorectal excision (TME) after a 8-12 weeks period. Therapy is usually completed with the administration of adjuvant chemotherapy based on oxaliplatin and fluoropyrimidines. This combined approach allowed the reduction of local recurrence at levels around 5%. Despite the impressive results in local control, the same was not confirmed for the long-term, overall survival. Possible explanations to that are: a) the compliance and completion of the treatment schemes during the postoperative period were low and b) there was a delay in the administration of adjuvant chemotherapy; both could lead to subclinical metastatic disease progression.
On the basis of achieving both goals, (i.e., local control through neoadjuvant radiotherapy and metastatic disease control through systemic chemotherapy) the administration of the two therapies in the preoperative period was proposed, in the form of combined or total neoadjuvant therapy.
Additional theoretical benefits of total neoadjuvant therapy is faster defunctioning stoma reversal, as well as, the possibility of a more accurate evaluation of the tumor biological behavior, thus enabling a safer staging for patients who would be candidates for a watch and wait protocol. Furthermore, for patients who will eventually undergo surgery, total neoadjuvant therapy could probably increase R0 resection and sphincter-preservation rates.
However, many researchers question the safety and efficacy of total neoadjuvant therapy. First, the administration of neoadjuvant chemotherapy significantly increases the risk of severe toxicity from cytotoxic agents. At the same time, according to the results of one of the largest prospective randomized trials, the addition of neoadjuvant chemotherapy into the treatment algorithm did not offer any advantage in the pathological response, 5-year overall and disease-free survival rates. Finally, there is considerable heterogeneity in the current literature, most likely reflecting the different schemes used in different trials regarding the radiotherapy regimen, the chemotherapy regimen as well as the sequence of each one in each protocol.
The investigators believe that it is difficult to interpret any differences in results when multiple parameters have been changed in a comparative trial. For this reason when testing the current standard neoadjuvant protocol to the new trend of total neoadjuvant therapy it was decided to keep the same scheme and timing for the experimental group while the only parameter which was different was the use of the classic chemotherapy scheme during the waiting period following chemoradiation and before surgery.
- Conditions
- Rectal Neoplasms
- Being tested
- Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy, Adjuvant Chemotherapy, Consolidation Chemotherapy
- Keywords
- rectal, cancer, neoadjuvant, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, mesorectal, excision
- Medical subject headings
- Rectal Neoplasms, Neoplasms
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Neoadjuvant ChemoradiotherapyRadiation
Also called nCRT
5-week neoadjuvant radiotherapy regimen (28 x 1.8 Gy) combined with Capecitabine (bid 800 mg/m2, twice daily, on days 1-33-38)
Adjuvant ChemotherapyDrug
Also called AC
8 cycles of CAPOX (Capecitabine bid 1000 mg/m2, twice daily, day 1-14, every 3 weeks and Oxaliplatin 130 mg/m2, day 1, every 3 weeks) or alternatively, 12 cycles of folinate, fluorouracil and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX)
Consolidation ChemotherapyDrug
Also called CC
CAPOX (Capecitabine bid1000 mg/m2 and Oxaliplatin 130 mg/m2, day 1, every 3 weeks) or alternatively FOLFOX
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy and Consolidation Chemotherapy | Experimental | The experimental group will receive the standard 5-week neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Thereafter, all patients will commence consolidation chemotherapy. At the 6th week after the end of CRT, patients will undergo MRI re-staging: In case of non-response (mrTRG 5) they will be submitted immediately to surgery, and, subsequently, excluded from the trial.
In case of response (mrTRG 2-4) they will receive consolidation chemotherapy for the whole waiting period between the end of CRT and surgery - 12 weeks. Receives: Radiation: Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy; Drug: Consolidation Chemotherapy |
| Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy and Adjuvant Chemotherapy | Active comparator | The control group will receive the standard 5-week neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy regimen. Six weeks after completion the patient will be re-staged with rectal MRI and depending on the response will be operated (TME): immediately in case of non-response (mrTRG 5) or after an additional 6-week delay (overall 12 weeks after the end of chemoradiotherapy) in case of partial response (mrTRG 2-4). Adjuvant chemotherapy will be, also, administered. Receives: Radiation: Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy; Drug: Adjuvant Chemotherapy |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Disease Free Survival
Occurence of Disease Free Survival. If such an episode occurs, then it will be defined as=1 'YES' If such an episode does not occur, then it will be defined as=0 'NO'
Measured: 3 years postoperatively
Secondary outcomes (9)
Complete Pathological Response
Occurence of Complete Pathological Response. If such an episode occurs, then it will be defined as=1 'YES' If such an episode does not occur, then it will be defined as=0 'NO'
Measured: 1 month postoperatively
Postoperative Complication
Occurence of postoperative complications based on the Clavien Dindo Classification. If such an episode occurs, then it will be defined as=1 'YES' If such an episode does not occur, then it will be defined as=0 'NO'
Measured: 1 month postoperatively
Length of Hospital Stay
Postoperative time that the patient can be safely discharged. Measurement unit: days. The patient will be discharged, when it is ensured that is medically safe to be released. In particular, as the exit time of the patient, will be regarded the time that the patient will fulfil the Clinical Discharge Criteria
Measured: Maximum time frame 39 days postoperatively
Readmission
Occurence of postoperative readmission. If such an episode occurs, then it will be defined as=1 'YES' If such an episode does not occur, then it will be defined as=0 'NO'
Measured: 1 month postoperatively
Negative Resection Margin
Occurence of Negative Resection Margin. If such an episode occurs, then it will be defined as=1 'YES' If such an episode does not occur, then it will be defined as=0 'NO'
Measured: 1 month postoperatively
Overall Survival
Occurence of Overall Survival. If such an episode occurs, then it will be defined as=1 'YES' If such an episode does not occur, then it will be defined as=0 'NO'
Measured: 3 years postoperatively
Chemotherapy Toxicity
Occurence of Chemotherapy Toxicity. If such an episode occurs, then it will be defined as=1 'YES' If such an episode does not occur, then it will be defined as=0 'NO'
Measured: 3 years postoperatively
Local Recurrence
Occurence of Local Recurrence. If such an episode occurs, then it will be defined as=1 'YES' If such an episode does not occur, then it will be defined as=0 'NO'
Measured: 3 years postoperatively
Treatment Compliance
Occurence of Treatment Compliance. If such an episode occurs, then it will be defined as=1 'YES' If such an episode does not occur, then it will be defined as=0 'NO'
Measured: 3 years postoperatively
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted11 Aug 2022
- Study start30 Aug 2022
- Primary completion30 Aug 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion30 Aug 2029 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (22)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Rectal NeoplasmsStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- The study will employ a prospective, parallel randomized-controlled design
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 84 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Larissa University Hospital
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Perivoliotis Konstantinos, Larissa University Hospital
- Investigators
- Konstantinos Perivoliotis, MD, Principal investigator, University Hospital of LarissaGeorge Tzovaras, Prof, Study director, University Hospital of Larissa
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05496491
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- NCCCRC
- Status last verified
- Aug 2026
- First submitted
- 9 Aug 2022
- Last updated
- 26 Aug 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No: No plan to share individual patient data
Publications
Liu S, Jiang T, Xiao L, Yang S, Liu Q, Gao Y, Chen G, Xiao W. Total Neoadjuvant Therapy (TNT) versus Standard Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Oncologist. 2021 Sep;26(9):e1555-e1566. doi: 10.1002/onco.13824. Epub 2021 Jun 7.
PubMed 33987952Kasi A, Abbasi S, Handa S, Al-Rajabi R, Saeed A, Baranda J, Sun W. Total Neoadjuvant Therapy vs Standard Therapy in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Dec 1;3(12):e2030097. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.30097.
PubMed 33326026Sutera P, Solomina J, Wegner RE, Abel S, Monga D, Finley G, McCormick J, Kirichenko AV. Post-Operative Morbidity and Mortality Following Total Neoadjuvant Therapy Versus Conventional Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer. J Gastrointest Cancer. 2021 Sep;52(3):976-982. doi: 10.1007/s12029-020-00401-3.
PubMed 32936391Chang H, Jiang W, Ye WJ, Tao YL, Wang QX, Xiao WW, Gao YH. Is long interval from neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy to surgery optimal for rectal cancer in the era of intensity-modulated radiotherapy?: a prospective observational study. Onco Targets Ther. 2018 Sep 21;11:6129-6138. doi: 10.2147/OTT.S169985. eCollection 2018.
PubMed 30288048Bahadoer RR, Dijkstra EA, van Etten B, Marijnen CAM, Putter H, Kranenbarg EM, Roodvoets AGH, Nagtegaal ID, Beets-Tan RGH, Blomqvist LK, Fokstuen T, Ten Tije AJ, Capdevila J, Hendriks MP, Edhemovic I, Cervantes A, Nilsson PJ, Glimelius B, van de Velde CJH, Hospers GAP; RAPIDO collaborative investigators. Short-course radiotherapy followed by chemotherapy before total mesorectal excision (TME) versus preoperative chemoradiotherapy, TME, and optional adjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer (RAPIDO): a randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial. Lancet Oncol. 2021 Jan;22(1):29-42. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30555-6. Epub 2020 Dec 7.
PubMed 33301740Giunta EF, Bregni G, Pretta A, Deleporte A, Liberale G, Bali AM, Moretti L, Troiani T, Ciardiello F, Hendlisz A, Sclafani F. Total neoadjuvant therapy for rectal cancer: Making sense of the results from the RAPIDO and PRODIGE 23 trials. Cancer Treat Rev. 2021 May;96:102177. doi: 10.1016/j.ctrv.2021.102177. Epub 2021 Mar 16.
PubMed 33798955Shi DD, Mamon HJ. Playing With Dynamite? A Cautious Assessment of TNT. J Clin Oncol. 2021 Jan 10;39(2):103-106. doi: 10.1200/JCO.20.02199. Epub 2020 Oct 14. No abstract available.
PubMed 33052753Ludmir EB, Palta M, Willett CG, Czito BG. Total neoadjuvant therapy for rectal cancer: An emerging option. Cancer. 2017 May 1;123(9):1497-1506. doi: 10.1002/cncr.30600. Epub 2017 Mar 10.
PubMed 28295220Petrelli F, Trevisan F, Cabiddu M, Sgroi G, Bruschieri L, Rausa E, Ghidini M, Turati L. Total Neoadjuvant Therapy in Rectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Treatment Outcomes. Ann Surg. 2020 Mar;271(3):440-448. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000003471.
PubMed 31318794Conroy T, Bosset JF, Etienne PL, Rio E, Francois E, Mesgouez-Nebout N, Vendrely V, Artignan X, Bouche O, Gargot D, Boige V, Bonichon-Lamichhane N, Louvet C, Morand C, de la Fouchardiere C, Lamfichekh N, Juzyna B, Jouffroy-Zeller C, Rullier E, Marchal F, Gourgou S, Castan F, Borg C; Unicancer Gastrointestinal Group and Partenariat de Recherche en Oncologie Digestive (PRODIGE) Group. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy with FOLFIRINOX and preoperative chemoradiotherapy for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (UNICANCER-PRODIGE 23): a multicentre, randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial. Lancet Oncol. 2021 May;22(5):702-715. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(21)00079-6. Epub 2021 Apr 13.
PubMed 33862000Jimenez-Rodriguez RM, Quezada-Diaz F, Hameed I, Kalabin A, Patil S, Smith JJ, Garcia-Aguilar J. Organ Preservation in Patients with Rectal Cancer Treated with Total Neoadjuvant Therapy. Dis Colon Rectum. 2021 Dec 1;64(12):1463-1470. doi: 10.1097/DCR.0000000000002122.
PubMed 34508014Bauer PS, Chapman WC Jr, Atallah C, Makhdoom BA, Damle A, Smith RK, Wise PE, Glasgow SC, Silviera ML, Hunt SR, Mutch MG. Perioperative Complications After Proctectomy for Rectal Cancer: Does Neoadjuvant Regimen Matter? Ann Surg. 2022 Feb 1;275(2):e428-e432. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000003885.
PubMed 32209914Sclafani F, Corro C, Koessler T. Debating Pros and Cons of Total Neoadjuvant Therapy in Rectal Cancer. Cancers (Basel). 2021 Dec 18;13(24):6361. doi: 10.3390/cancers13246361.
PubMed 34944980Fernandez-Martos C, Garcia-Albeniz X, Pericay C, Maurel J, Aparicio J, Montagut C, Safont MJ, Salud A, Vera R, Massuti B, Escudero P, Alonso V, Bosch C, Martin M, Minsky BD. Chemoradiation, surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy versus induction chemotherapy followed by chemoradiation and surgery: long-term results of the Spanish GCR-3 phase II randomized trialdagger. Ann Oncol. 2015 Aug;26(8):1722-8. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdv223. Epub 2015 May 8.
PubMed 25957330Marco MR, Zhou L, Patil S, Marcet JE, Varma MG, Oommen S, Cataldo PA, Hunt SR, Kumar A, Herzig DO, Fichera A, Polite BN, Hyman NH, Ternent CA, Stamos MJ, Pigazzi A, Dietz D, Yakunina Y, Pelossof R, Garcia-Aguilar J; Timing of Rectal Cancer Response to Chemoradiation Consortium. Consolidation mFOLFOX6 Chemotherapy After Chemoradiotherapy Improves Survival in Patients With Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer: Final Results of a Multicenter Phase II Trial. Dis Colon Rectum. 2018 Oct;61(10):1146-1155. doi: 10.1097/DCR.0000000000001207.
PubMed 30192323