Short-term efficacy of combination of 125I seed brachytherapy and cetuximab in postoperation recurrent rectum cancer

Objective To evaluate the short-term efficacy of combination of 125I seed brachytherapy and cetuximab in postoperation recurrent rectum cancer. Methods From July 2014 to June 2018, at Affiliated Hospital of Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, 57 patients with postoperation recurrent rectal cancer were recruited. According to therapy the patients were divided into two groups: the radiotherapy group (30 cases) treated with radioactive 125I seeds alone and the combination treatment group (27 cases) treated with combination of radioactive 125I seeds and cetuximab. The tumor size, pain relief and adverse reactions were observed in both groups. Chi-square test were performed for statistical analysis. Results After treatment for six months, the total efficacy rate and local control rate of combination treatment group were 54.2% (13/24) and 87.5% (21/24), respectively; and which were higher than those of radiotherapy group (17.9%, 5/28 and 39.3%, 11/28), and the differences were statistically significant (χ2=15.01 and 2.55, both P 0.05). After treatment for six months, the rates of adverse reactions of radiotherapy group and combination treatment group were 46.7% (14/30) and 63.0% (17/27), respectively, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). The symptoms of patients with radiation injury significantly improved after symptomatic treatment. Conclusion The short-term efficacy of combination of 125I seed brachytherapy and cetuximab is better than that of 125I seed brachytherapy alone in patients with postoperation recurrent rectum cancer. Key words: Recurrent rectum cancer; 125I seeds; Cetuximab monoclonal antibody