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Chemoradiotherapy for anal squamous cell carcinoma
Orla A Houlihan1, Brian D P O'Neill2
1Department of Medicine, Beaumont Hospital, Beaumont Road, Dublin 9, Ireland.
Chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with mitomycin C (MMC) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is the standard treatment for anal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Adding induction or maintenance chemotherapy to CRT offers no additional benefit for anal cancer patients.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Gastroenterology
Background:
- Anal cancer incidence is rising, though it remains rare.
- Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most common type of anal cancer.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current treatment strategies for anal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).
- To evaluate the efficacy of various chemoradiotherapy (CRT) regimens.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent and ongoing clinical trials.
- Literature search using PubMed and conference abstracts.
- Hand searches of reference lists.
Main Results:
- Chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with mitomycin C (MMC) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) demonstrates effective outcomes for anal SCC.
- Salvage surgery is effective for persistent or recurrent anal SCC beyond 26 weeks.
- Induction or maintenance chemotherapy added to CRT showed no significant benefit.
Conclusions:
- Primary chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with MMC and 5-FU is the established standard treatment for anal SCC.
- Current evidence does not support the use of induction or maintenance chemotherapy in conjunction with CRT for anal SCC.
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