Neoadjuvant Radiotherapy Versus No Radiotherapy for Stage IV Rectal Cancer: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

The aim of this study is to review the contemporary evidence comparing neoadjuvant radiotherapy (NRT) versus no radiotherapy (no RT) in patients with stage IV rectal cancer. Literature was searched for studies using the following databases: Pubmed, EMBASE, Science Direct, Scopus, ASCOpubs, the Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar. Studies reporting outcomes for stage IV rectal cancer patients who underwent NRT or no RT were selected. A total of...