Short radiation plus drugs for early rectal cancer
Treatments studied
Part of Cancer, Digestive system clinical trials.
This trial tests a combination of short-course radiation, chemotherapy (capecitabine), and two immunotherapy drugs (PD-1 and CTLA-4 inhibitors) for people with early-stage rectal cancer who want to avoid surgery and keep their anus. The goal is to see if this treatment can shrink the tumor enough to avoid major surgery.
Summary written for real people, not researchers, by Clin2.
Who can take part
- You are between 18 and 80 years old.
- You have low rectal cancer within about 7 cm of the anal opening, at stages T2 or T3 with no spread to lymph nodes.
- Your tumor is MSS or MSI-L (a type that doesn't have high instability) and is adenocarcinoma confirmed by biopsy.
- You are willing to try non-surgical treatment first, and you strongly want to keep your anus.
- You have not had any prior cancer treatment, immunotherapy, or pelvic radiation.
- Your doctor says you are healthy enough for this study (ECOG score 0 or 1) and you have no other cancers.
Quick eligibility check
Answer a few plain-language questions, based on this study's own requirements, to get a preliminary sense of fit.
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