The Oncologic Efficacy and Long-term Survival Outcomes of Total Neoadjuvant Therapy for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

\n Purpose To evaluate the pooled oncologic efficacy of total neoadjuvant therapy for locally advanced rectal cancer patients using meta-analysis method.Method To evaluate the pooled effects of total neoadjuvant therapy in terms of exact oncologic efficacy and long-term survival outcomes, a systemic literature search of PubMed, Embase, China Biology Medicine and WanFang Database was performed.Results A total of 15 studies including 4091 patients were finally identified. The pooled analysis revealed that total neoadjuvant therapy significantly increased the rates of T-downstaging (OR=2.16, 95% CI:1.63~2.87, P<0.00001), pathologic complete response (OR=1.90, 95% CI:1.60~2.27, P<0.00001) and R0 resection (OR=1.44, 95% CI: 1.07~1.93, P=0.01) with a comparable safety profile. Most importantly, patients received total neoadjuvant therapy had a superior overall survival rate compared to standard neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (HR=0.74, 95% CI: 0.62~0.89, P=0.001).Conclusion Patients with locally advanced rectal cancer can be managed with total neoadjuvant therapy with a superior short-term oncologic efficacy and long-term survival benefits.