List of Ongoing Clinical Trials: Patient Summary

NSABP R-04
A Clinical Trial Comparing Preoperative Radiation Therapy and Capecitabine with Preoperative Radiation Therapy and Continuous Intravenous Infusion (CVI) of 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) in the Treatment of Patients with Operable Carcinoma of the Rectum

Summary
Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as capecitabine and fluorouracil, work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. It is not yet known whether radiation therapy is more effective when combined with capecitabine or 5-fluorouracil before surgery in treating operable rectal cancer.

This is a randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of combining radiation therapy with either capecitabine or 5-fluorouracil before surgery in treating patients who have operable rectal cancer.

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