Capecitabine and Radiation Therapy With or Without Panitumumab in Treating Patients With Advanced Rectal Cancer
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2014-01-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as capecitabine, work in different ways to stop
the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing.
Giving radiation therapy that uses a 3-dimensional (3-D) image of the tumor to help focus
thin beams of radiation directly on the tumor, and giving radiation therapy in higher doses
over a shorter period of time, may kill more tumor cells and have fewer side effects.
Monoclonal antibodies, such as panitumumab, can block tumor growth in different ways. Some
block the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Others find tumor cells and help kill
them or carry tumor-killing substances to them. It is not yet known whether giving
capecitabine together with 3-D conformal radiation therapy is more effective with or without
panitumumab in treating patients with advanced rectal cancer.
PURPOSE: This randomized phase II trial is studying giving capecitabine together with
radiation therapy to see how well it works with or without panitumumab in treating patients
with advanced rectal cancer.