Chemoradiotherapy for anal squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract Background and purpose Anal cancer is a relatively rare cancer, making up approximately 0.4% of all new diagnoses of cancer. The incidence of anal cancer, however, has increased in recent years. The aim of this paper is to review current treatment of anal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), the most common type of anal cancer. Methods This review article focuses on recent and ongoing trials studying the outcomes of various chemoradiotherapy (CRT) regimens in the treatment of anal SCC. PubMed was initially searched for relevant trials. This search was then supplemented by hand searches of reference lists and abstracts of relevant conferences. Main findings CRT with mitomycin C (MMC) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) has been proven to have effective results in the treatment of anal SCC. Salvage surgery has a role in some patients in the treatment of persistent or recurrent disease beyond 26 weeks. The addition of induction or maintenance chemotherapy to CRT has not been shown to have any benefit. Conclusions Primary CRT with MMC and 5-FU is the current standard treatment for anal SCC. There is currently no role for induction or maintenance chemotherapy.