Rapid treatment prevents need for life-changing surgery for rectal cancer

Independent

28-02-2025

People with rectal cancer could be spared the need for life-changing surgery thanks to a rapid treatment that preserves healthy tissue, a clinical trial has found.
Experts at the NHS Clatterbridge Cancer Centre on the Wirral discovered that people with early-stage rectal cancer can avoid the need for a stoma and may be cured if they have a type of specialist internal radiotherapy.
The final-stage results of the global clinical trial Opera followed 141 patients for five years and found a rise in preservation rates for the rectum, from 56% with standard treatment to 79% in those given the therapy.
The technique uses contact X-ray brachytherapy (CXB), combined with chemo-radiotherapy, to deliver radiation directly onto the tumour.
Each treatment application kills cancer cells layer by layer, while preventing damage to the normal, healthy bowel around the tumour.
Clatterbridge consultant Professor Sun Myint, who led the UK arm of the research, said: 'This study is a significant milestone in rectal cancer management.
'The ability to preserve organs in nearly 80% of cases without compromising bowel function or long-term quality of life is a game-changer for patients.'
The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust is one of the world's leading centres for this type of treatment for rectal cancer.
Prof Myint said the treatment meant patients could avoid a colostomy – an operation to bring part of the bowel through an opening in the stomach to form a stoma, which collects the body's waste in a bag.
He said: 'For many patients, the prospect of a permanent colostomy is life-changing.
'This technique not only spares the organ but also preserves dignity and quality of life.'
He said the study findings showed that bowel function was not worsened by the CXB boost, showing it is a safe and effective treatment option.
He said: 'These results should encourage wider adoption of contact X-ray brachytherapy as part of standard care for eligible patients.
'It's a beacon of hope for those battling rectal cancer.'
Prof Myint said he hopes CXB can also be used in other cancers.
Sharon Price, 51, who works in the NHS caring for lung cancer patients, was 45 and recently married when she was given the devastating news that she had rectal cancer. She was given the all-clear after the study.
She said: 'I was faced with the possibility of surgery, which would mean that I'd have to live with a stoma for the rest of my life.
'That was devastating – I was just too young to have to go through that and live with the consequences of how it can change what you're able to do.
'Many people do live with a stoma but for me, there would be no reversal of it, and I found it very difficult to contemplate that.
'I was offered the chance to join the clinical trial and I decided to do it immediately.
'It gave me the chance not to have invasive surgery, but if it did not work, I could still have that standard treatment.'
Mrs Price, who lives in Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, had three rounds of CXB before 25 sessions of standard chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
This eradicated her cancer and it was followed up with intensive monitoring for three years before she was given the all-clear.
She said: 'I'm so glad I went for it. The Opera trial has meant I have had a normal, healthy life after being diagnosed with cancer.
'It has had no lasting impact on my life – and I wonder if that would have been the case if I had not joined the research.'