Anal carcinoma: basic concepts and management

Surgery has been the mainstay in the management of anal carcinoma. However, anal carcinomas are reasonably sensitive to ionizing radiation. By appropriate combinations of external radiation beams and interstitial implantation techniques, curative therapy with preservation of anal continence can be rendered by radiation alone. Sufficient radiation dose to the draining lymph nodes, both intraabdominal and inguinal, along with intensified dose to the primary lesions, is required for high cure and low complication rates.