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HEALTH PROFESSIONAL · SOURCE READING

Treatment Options for Stages II and III Rectal Cancer

Source: Rectal Cancer Treatment (PDQ®)–Health Professional Version, National Cancer Institute.

Source updated: February 12, 2025 · Captured 2026-09-09.

Selected source text with whitespace normalised. This Triangle page is not an NCI PDQ summary. Independent clinical review is pending.

Context: Treatment of Stages II and III Rectal Cancer

Treatment options for stages II and III rectal cancer include:

Preoperative chemoradiation therapy.

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Neoadjuvant chemotherapy with FOLFOX without preoperative chemoradiation therapy (for select patients with lower-risk disease).

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Short-course preoperative radiation therapy followed by surgery and chemotherapy.

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Postoperative chemoradiation therapy.

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Surgery.

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Primary chemoradiation therapy followed by intensive surveillance for complete clinical responders.

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Immunotherapy (for patients with mismatch repair deficiency or high microsatellite instability [MSI]).

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Continue within this section

Preoperative chemoradiation therapy →Neoadjuvant chemotherapy with FOLFOX without preoperative chemoradiation therapy (for select patients with lower-risk disease) →Short-course preoperative radiation therapy followed by surgery and chemotherapy →Postoperative chemoradiation therapy →Surgery →Primary chemoradiation therapy followed by intensive surveillance for complete clinical responders →Immunotherapy →Chemotherapy regimens →

Preserved source evidence · Independent clinical review pending · Not medical advice