Total Neoadjuvant Therapy Hurts Survival in Rectal Cancer

Patients with rectal cancer who undergo total neoadjuvant therapy have significantly worse survival rates after liver surgery.

Median overall survival is 48.7 months for total neoadjuvant therapy patients vs 99.5 months for those who didn’t (p = .01).
Total neoadjuvant therapy is an independent predictor of decreased overall survival (hazard ratio 0.41).

Watch for higher rates of liver steatosis (30.8% vs 8.7%, p = .002), which may impact surgical outcomes.

Further research is required to find factors that contribute to poor outcomes in these patients.

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