Intraoperative radiotherapy for gastrointestinal cancer

Local recurrence following potentially curative tumor resection is a major problem in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. To augment surgical excis ion and to avoid the disadvantages of external beam irradiation, intraopera tive radiotherapy (IORT) has been applied to primary and recurrent gastroin testinal cancer, both with curative intent and for palliation. There is amp le evidence that the combination of radical surgery and IORT can improve lo cal control. Whether this eventually can translate into improved overall su rvival has not yet been studied in adequately powered randomized and contro lled trials. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.