Tehran University of Medical Sciences Acta Medica Iranica 0044-6025 53 10 2015 10 27 627 632 EN Farshid Farhan Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Mohammad Sadegh Fazeli Department of Surgical Oncology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Farhad Samiei Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Mahdi Aghili Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Peiman Haddad Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Somayeh Gholami Department of Medical Physics and Engineering, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Mansoureh Nabavi Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 2015 10 27 The aim of this study was to evaluate the morbidity and mortality in patients with operable stage II and III rectal cancers within one or two months after surgery, who has been treated pre-operatively with short course radiotherapy. Twenty-eight patients with rectal adenocarcinoma, consecutively referred to the Cancer Institute of Imam Khomeini Hospital from March 2009 to March 2010, were selected for the study after staging by endorectal ultrasound and CT of abdomen, pelvis, and chest; and if they had inclusion criteria for short course schedule, they were treated with radiotherapy alone at 2500 cGy for 5 sessions, and then they were referred to the surgical service for operation one week later. They were visited there by a surgeon unaware of the research who completed a questionnaire about pre-operative, operative, and post-operative complications. Of 28 patients, 25 patients underwent either APR or LAR surgery with TME. One patient developed transient anal pain grade I and one patient had dysuria grade I; they were improved in subsequent follow-up. Short course schedule can be performed carefully in patients with staged rectal cancer without concerning about serious complications. This shorter treatment schedule is cost-effective and would be more convenient for patients due to fewer trips to the hospital and the main treatment, i.e. operating the patient, will be done with the shortest time the following diagnosis. https://acta.tums.ac.ir/index.php/acta/article/view/5076 https://acta.tums.ac.ir/index.php/acta/article/download/5076/4700