The results of 21-year experience of treating anal squamous cell carcinomas

Anal squamous cell carcinomas are one of the rare cancer types. Due to the developments in the past 35 years, surgery is no longer the first treatment of choice. The aim of this study was to retrospectively examine the outcomes of 24 patients treated in a single center in the last 21 years in terms of applied treatment, local relapse, distant metastasis, post-treatment complications, and survival.

Data obtained from 24 anal squamous cell carcinoma patients, who were treated in Ankara Oncology Research and Education Hospital between 1990 and 2010, were retrospectively evaluated.

Of the 24 patients, 16 had anal canal squamous cell carcinoma and eight had perianal squamous cell carcinoma. All of the patients with anal canal squamous cell carcinoma (n=16) received chemoradiotherapy. Three of these patients who did not respond to treatment, underwent abdominoperineal resection. The patients with perianal squamous cell tumors were treated by local excision. During the follow -ups, seven patients experienced local relapse, and one patient had distant organ metastasis. Only one patient died. Five-year disease free survival rate was found as 66%.

Our findings suggest that the first alternative in the treatment of anal squamous cell tumors should be chemoradiotherapy; and surgery seems to be the appropriate approach for the non-responsive and relapsing cases.