Financing: Agentschap voor Innovatie door Wetenschap en Technologie  (IWT)

Project reference Nr.: IWT-TBM-100783
Start: 2011-12-01
End: 2015-01-28

Description:

Rectal cancer is a frequent and curable malignancy in the Western world. The introduction of the total mesorectal excision (TME) with its wider lateral margins reduced the number of loco regional recurrences drastically [MacFarlane, 1993; Kapiteijn 2001]. Preoperative radiotherapy has proven its worth in reducing local control rates and overall survival in all stages of rectal cancer [Kapiteijn 2001], which was further increased by the addition of fluorouracil based chemotherapy schedules [Sauer 2004]. Besides the increased local control rate, chemoradiation (CRT) has the additional advantage of inducing a significant tumor downsizing and even down staging [Bosset, 2005; Valentini, 2001]. In 10-30% of the patients no residual tumor tissue after CRT can be observed. These patients have a favourable long term outcome. Currently, the standard therapy for each patient is neoadjuvant treatment followed by extensive surgery regardless of the tumor response. However, the last decade the question arose whether extensive surgery can be avoided and replaced by minimal invasive surgery or no surgery at all for patients with a pathologic complete response (pCR) without compromising tumor control [Habr-Gama, 2004]. To date however, the only way to ascertain pCR is pathologic examination of the resection specimen. Non-invasive assessment of the response of the tumor to neoadjuvant CRT is essential for further selection of patients who could be spared invasive surgery. To achieve this aim, we will assess the usefulness of molecular markers present in the tumor tissue and blood of the patients and two non invasive imaging techniques (Diffusion-Weighted (DW-)MRI and 18-F Fluoro-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18FDG-PET) in a group of 80 patients. The molecular and radiological features will be correlated in order to predict response prediction and make treatment adjustments

SMC people involved in the project:

• Vincent Vandecaveye (Rad Med diag Sc ) (Co-promoter)
• E. Van Cutsem (Co-promoter)
• Annelies Debucquoy (Co-promoter)
• Bart De Moor (Co-promoter)
• Xavier Sagaert (Co-promoter)
• Karin Haustermans (Promoter)
• Olivier Gevaert (Team member)
• Inge Thijs (Team member)
• Sylvia Plevritis (Team member)
• Dusan Popovic (Team member)
• Yousef El Aalamat (Team member)