Abstract

Developing early endpoints in the development of treatments for rectum cancer and determining prognostic markers are very important in the rapid and healthy evaluation of the results of the studies. The most famous early endpoint developed for this purpose is the neoadjuvant rectal cancer (NAR) score. This study was planned to evaluate the power of the NAR score in predicting prognosis in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy treatment in two different centers.
Methods:
The data of 85 patients diagnosed with locally advanced rectal cancer who received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and whose treatment-follow-up information can be accessed were evaluated retrospectively, and NAR scores were calculated. Patients were divided into two groups according to NAR score (score ≤16 and patients with> 16). Overall survival and disease-free survival results were compared.
Results:
In the median 2-year follow-up period, a 3-month survival advantage was observed in the patient group with low NAR (16) values. However, the difference was close to the limit but was not significant (p = 0.057). The results were found to be statistically significantly better in the patient arm with a low NAR score in disease-free survival (p = 0.003)
Conclusion:
The NAR score is a primary endpoint validated many times in large case groups and demonstrated prognostic significance. Considering the small number of cases evaluated in this study, a prognostic determinant has also emerged in this small group. The difference of this score is important in evaluating and accelerating future studies, its validation separately in patients undergoing neoadjuvant treatment schemes.

Key words: Rectal cancer, radiotherapy, prognostic factor