Anal Cancer

A rare disease, anal cancer accounts for less than 6,000 cases a year in the U.S., although its incidence appears to be increasing each year. Anal cancer occurs when malignant tumors develop at the opening end of the rectum. Benign, or noncancerous, tumors can also later develop into anal cancer. While no one knows its cause, doctors believe a genetic mutation leads to anal cancer. Caught early, this cancer can be cured; however, once it spreads to other organs, the five-year survival rate drops to 20%. Treatment includes chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgical removal of the cancer. If you are older than 50, have multiple sexual partners, smoke cigarettes or have the human papillomavirus (HPV), you are at greater risk of developing this cancer. You are also at greater risk if you take immunosuppressive drugs like those taken after an organ transplant. Visit your doctor if you experience any of these symptoms: anal itching, bleeding in the anus or rectum, and pain near the anus.

Recently Answered

QWhat is anal cancer?

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A Riverside Cancer Care Center answered

Anal cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the anus. The anus is the end of the large intestine, below the rectum, through which stool (solid waste) leaves the body. The anus is formed partly from the outer, skin layers of the body and partly from the intestine. Two ring-like muscles, called sphincter muscles, open and close the anal opening to let stool pass out of the body. The anal canal, the part of the anus between the rectum and the anal opening, is about 1 and half inches long. The skin around the outside of the anus is called the perianal area. Tumors in this area are skin tumors, not anal cancer.

This answer is based on source information from National Cancer Institute.
QHow is anorectal cancer diagnosed?

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A NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital answered

Your physician will perform a physical examination and take a full medical history. He or she will do a digital rectal examination to check for lumps or anything unusual by inserting a lubricated, gloved finger into the lower part of the rectum. Your physician may also use an anoscope or proctoscope – both are short, lighted tubes – to examine the anus and lower rectum, and perform an endoanal or endorectal ultrasound. This test uses sound waves emitted by a probe, or transducer, which is inserted into the rectum and bounces sound waves off tissues to produce an image on a screen. A colonoscopy may be performed to evaluate the rest of the colon. Finally, your doctor may take a biopsy to check for cancer if an area appears abnormal.
QWhat are the risk factors for anorectal cancer?

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A NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital answered

Individuals infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) and anal or genital warts are at an increased risk of developing anal cancer. Chronic suppression of the immune system from infection of HIV/AIDS or the use of transplantation drugs such as cyclosporine for kidney transplant; anal intercourse or multiple sex partners also increase the risk. Tobacco use is a strong risk factor for anal cancer, as is being over age 50. Frequent anal soreness, redness, and inflammation, or having anal fissures increases the risk as well.
QWhat is anorectal cancer?

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A NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital answered

Anorectal cancer is characterized by the growth of cancerous cells in the tissues of the anus.
QWhat causes a carcinoid tumor?

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A Parkland Medical Center answered

A carcinoid tumor is caused by a mutation of the DNA in a cell. Typically this is a cell that produces hormones as part of the neuroendocrine system, usually in the gastrointestinal tract. The cells begin to multiply uncontrollably and form a mass. This mass, or tumor, tends to grow more slowly than other cancers. Carcinoids are also known as neuroendocrine tumors and neuroendocrine cancers.
QWhat are the ways that anal cancer can spread in the body?

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A Riverside Cancer Care Center answered

Cancer is said to be metastatic when it moves from its place of origin to other parts of the body. Cancers spread from the site of origin in a typical pattern: invade local tissue; move through lymph vessels' or blood vessels' walls; travel through the lymphatic system or the bloodstream; invade capilliaries in distant locations; form turmors in the new location; create new blood vessels to feed the new tumor. Most commonly, when anal cancer metastasizes it spreads to the liver and lungs. When anal cancer is diagnosed it is staged, meaning the progression of the disease is determined using a scale from 0 (cancerous cells atop anal tissue) to IV (cancer spread to areas of the body distant from the original site).
QWhat are the standard treatments for anal cancer?

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A Riverside Cancer Care Center answered

Three main types of standard treatment are used: chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. Most often a combination of chemotherapy and radiation is used, avoiding surgery when possible. Chemotherapy uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, usually 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and mitomycin. Radiation therapy kills or disrupts cancerous cells using high-energy X-rays directed at the cancer (a process known as external-beam radiation therapy) or radioactive substances implanted in or near the cancer (brachytherapy). Surgical treatment physically removes the cancerous tissue.
QWhat are the symptoms of anorectal cancer?

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A NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital answered

Symptoms of anal cancer include bleeding from the rectum or anus, pain or pressure in the region surrounding the anus, an itching or discharge from the anus, a lump in the region, and a change in bowel habits may indicate anal cancer. Other conditions may also cause these symptoms, so it is important to check with your physician if you have any of these symptoms.
QWhat is the treatment for anorectal cancer?

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A NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital answered

The treatment for anorectal cancer will depend on the stage of cancer, and may involve radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and/or surgery. Chemotherapy and radiation are generally the first line of treatment for anal cancers.

- Radiation may be administered externally, or internally using radioactive seeds or catheters placed in or near the cancer.
- Chemotherapy is often administered with radiation.
- Surgery for small, contained cancer or cancer in the lower part of the bowel is usually done as a local resection, in which diseased tissue is removed along with some surrounding healthy tissue. This procedure can preserve sphincter muscles.

For more extensive cancer, a resection is performed, in which the anus, rectum, part of the lower colon, and lymph nodes are removed through an incision made in the abdomen. The surgeon then attaches the end of the intestine to an opening, called a stoma, which he or she makes in the abdomen, where stool collects in a bag attached to the outside of the abdomen.
QWhat are the possible signs of anal cancer?

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A Riverside Cancer Care Center answered

A doctor should be consulted if any of the following problems occur:
Bleeding from the anus or rectum. Pain or pressure in the area around the anus. Itching or discharge from the anus. A lump near the anus. A change in bowel habits.

This answer is based on source information from the National Cancer Institute.