Published online Feb 28, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i8.2005
Revised: December 23, 2013
Accepted: January 8, 2014
Published online: February 28, 2014
Processing time: 182 Days and 15.7 Hours
Recurrence of colorectal cancer (CRC) often presents as solitary metastases, oligometastases or oligo-recurrence. Surgical resection became the preferred treatment for patients with CRC lung and hepatic metastases. However, surgical treatment for oligo-recurrence within nodal area is not a widely accepted treatment due to due to their relative rarity and high postoperative morbidity. Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is one of the emerging radiation treatment techniques in which a high radiation dose can be delivered to the tumor. High-dose SBRT can ablate the tumor with an efficacy similar to that achieved with surgery, especially for small tumors. However, there have been very few studies on SBRT for oligo-recurrence within nodal area, although several studies have evaluated the role of SBRT in the treatment of liver and lung metastases from CRC. This article reviews the current clinical status of and treatment methods for oligo-recurrence within nodal area from CRC, with particular emphasis on SBRT.
Core tip: Surgical treatment for oligo-recurrence of colorectal cancer (CRC) within nodal area is not a widely accepted treatment due to due to their relative rarity and high postoperative morbidity. High-dose stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) can ablate the tumor with an efficacy similar to that achieved with surgery, especially for small tumors. Recently, several investigators successfully treated oligo-recurrence of CRC within nodal area with SBRT. This article reviews the current clinical status of and treatment methods for oligo-recurrence within nodal area from CRC, with particular emphasis on SBRT.