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Treatment of Stages II and III Rectal Cancer

For information about the treatments listed below, see the Treatment Option Overview section.

Treatment of stage II and stage III rectal cancer may include the following:

  • Chemotherapy combined with radiation therapy, followed by surgery.
  • Short-course radiation therapy followed by surgery and chemotherapy.
  • Surgery followed by chemotherapy combined with radiation therapy.
  • Surgery.
  • Chemotherapy combined with radiation therapy, followed by active surveillance. Surgery may be done if the cancer recurs (comes back).
  • Immunotherapy (for treatment of tumors that may have a defect in genes involved in DNA repair).
  • A clinical trial of a new treatment strategy.

Use our clinical trial search to find NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are accepting patients. You can search for trials based on the type of cancer, the age of the patient, and where the trials are being done. General information about clinical trials is also available.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Navigating Care disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information. This information was sourced and adapted from Adapted from the National Cancer Institute's Physician Data Query (PDQ®) Cancer Information Summaries on www.cancer.gov.

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The Navigating Care Library includes articles about cancer, chemotherapy regimens and drugs from the the National Cancer Institute and other experts.