ABSTRACT
Over 30 years ago, Moertel et al1 reported the results of a randomized clinical trial in which patients with locally advanced gastrointestinal tumours received either a moderate radiotherapy dose plus a placebo, or the same radiotherapy plus 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) delivered during the first 3 days of radiotherapy. A significant survival advantage was observed in the combined-modality treatment arm. These results prompted the development of combined-modality treatment in many studies for patients with digestive-tract cancers.
