Preoperative Chemoradiation Therapy for Rectal Cancer.

The surgeon and the radiation therapist share the primary responsibility for the maintenance of local control in the management of carcinoma of the rectum. Usually, radiation therapy is used to control microscopic disease, while surgery is employed to control macroscopic disease. For ionizing radiation to be effective, targeted tissues must be well oxygenated. Likewise, the risk of local recurrence must be great enough to justify the potential risk of the complications secondary to radiation therapy.