Anal Carcinoma

Carcinoma of the anus is a rare malignancy that usually is diagnosed at an advanced stage, in spite of being easily visible and accessible. Its treatment has evolved from being mainly surgical to one consisting of chemotherapy (with fluorouracil and mitomycin) and radiation (megavoltage linear accelerator therapy delivering between 40 to 50 Gy). Local surgical excision is most often performed for either carcinoma in situ or microinvasive lesions of the anal margin. Radical resection is indicated for patients with residual disease following chemoradiation or for recurrent disease.