ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the therapeutic effect of preoperative regional intra-arterial chemotherapy (PRAC) on progressive lower rectal cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty-five patients with progressive lower rectal cancer were divided into groups A (23 cases) and B (22 cases) for treatment with PRAC 1 to 2 weeks prior to surgical tumor resection or with surgical resection only, respectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>PRAC caused obvious tissue degeneration and necrosis of rectal cancer with a total effective rate of 95.65%. The rates of radical resection in groups A and B were 91.3% and 72.27%, respectively. The 1-year postoperative survival rates of the two groups were 95.65% and 86.36%, with 3-year survival of 89.96% and 68.18%, and 3-year postoperative recurrence rates of 8.69% and 27.27%, respectively. The anal preservation rates of the two groups were 78.26% and 59.09%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>PRAC can increase radical resection rates, promote the postoperative survival and anal preservation rate, and lower the recurrence rate in patients with lower rectal cancer.</p>