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Although total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) is a new standard of care for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC), there are no data to confirm the safety and efficacy of this approach in older patients. SHAPERS is a multicentre, open-label, randomised pragmatic trial, aiming to assess whether neoadjuvant short-course radiotherapy (SCRT) is a better trade-off between safety and efficacy than TNT in LARC patients aged ≥70 years. Eligible patients are randomised in a 1 : 1 ratio to SCRT followed by surgery [or watch & wait (w&w)] ± adjuvant chemotherapy or TNT (either SCRT followed by 12-18 weeks of chemotherapy, or long-course chemoradiotherapy followed or preceded by 16 weeks of chemotherapy, based on the investigator’s choice) followed by surgery (or w&w). The primary endpoint is the net treatment benefit, a multicomponent measure of treatment effect based on generalised pairwise comparisons, and defined by four prioritised outcome measures: (i) overall survival at 3 years; (ii) progression-free survival at 3 years; (iii) increased-grade peripheral sensory neuropathy at 3 years; (iv) grade ≥3 toxicities during treatment. The study sample size includes 230 eligible patients, to be recruited at 15-20 centres in Belgium. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT06052332).

Abstract Background The viral pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has disrupted cancer patient management around the world. Most reported data relate to incidence, risk factors, and outcome of severe COVID-19. The safety of systemic anti-cancer therapy in oncology patients with non-severe COVID-19 is an important matter in daily practice. Methods ONCOSARS-1 was a single-center, academic observational study. Adult patients with solid tumors treated in the oncology day unit with systemic anti-cancer therapy during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium were prospectively included. All patients (n = 363) underwent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) serological testing after the first peak of the pandemic in Belgium. Additionally, 141 of these patients also had a SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test during the pandemic. The main objective was to retrospectively determine the safety of systemic cancer treatment, measured by the rate of adverse events according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, in SARS-CoV-2-positive patients compared with SARS-CoV-2-negative patients. Results Twenty-two (6%) of the 363 eligible patients were positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR and/or serology. Of these, three required transient oxygen supplementation, but none required admission to the intensive care unit. Hematotoxicity was the only adverse event more frequently observed in SARS-CoV-2 -positive patients than in SARS-CoV-2-negative patients: 73% vs 35% (P