Anal cancer in Alaska; a retrospective study of incidence, treatment, and outcomes

Anal cancer is a rare tumor usually of squamous histology that is managed most often with concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Surgery is commonly reserved for those who fail primary treatment. We conducted a retrospective analysis of the medical records of patients with anal cancer seen in two radiation therapy centers in Alaska from the period of 1996 to mid-2001. Records were reviewed for diagnosis, sex, age, staging, treatment and outcomes. Twenty-four patients were identified with squamous cell carcinoma of the anus. Average age at diagnosis was 53. Tumor size was predominantly 2-5 centimeters. Four patients had nodal involvement and three had distant metastasis. Twenty patients received radiation. Nineteen received flourouracil and either cisplatin or mitomycin. Three patients underwent abdominoperineal resections. Ten were found to have no evidence of disease at an average of twenty-two months. These results are consistent with findings of larger studies elsewhere.