Abstract:Some of the patients with rectal cancer are less sensitive to preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). Patients who are resistant to CCRT have a poor local tumor control and CCRT may also increase adverse reactions. The sensitivity of rectal cancer patients to CCRT can be predicted by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography, serum carcinoembryonic antigen, molecular biomarkers and gene expression profiling before treatment. According to the predicted results, the clinicians are instructed to choose individualized treatment for the patients so that the therapeutic effects of rectal cancer are further improved.

Key words:Rectal neoplasms,Preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy,Molecular markers