Yonsei Med J.  2007 Oct;48(5):827-832. 10.3349/ymj.2007.48.5.827.

Anal Canal Carcinoma: Experience from a Single Korean Institution

• Lee WS
• Chun HK
• Lee WY
• Yun SH
• Yun H
• Cho YB
• Kang WK
• Park YS
• Huh SJ
• Ahn YC
• Park W

• KMID: 1122621
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2007.48.5.827

Abstract

PURPOSE: The clinical features, treatment modality approaches in clinical practice, and prognostic factors for anal canal carcinoma patients were retrospectively analyzed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between October 1994 and December 2005, 50 patients with anal canal cancer were treated at Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. RESULTS: After a median follow up of 37.8 months (range, 6.6-136.1 months), the 5-year and 10-year survival rates for the 38 patients with early and locally advanced squamous and cloacogenic carcinoma (squamous cell carcinoma and cloacogenic carcinoma) were 74.8% and 66.5%, respectively. The 5-year survival and disease-free survival rates (DFS) of the 31 patients who received chemoradiation therapy (CRT) were 83.6% and 74.3%, respectively. The overall and DFS could not be determined for the adenocarcinoma group due to the small number of cases (n=8). Univariate analysis showed that tumor size (p=0.04) and inguinal node status (p=0.04) significantly influenced patient survival in patients with squamous cell and cloacogenic carcinomas. Furthermore, univariate analysis also showed that, inguinal node status influenced patient survival in the adenocarcinoma group. Multivariate analysis showed that inguinal node metastasis is a single independent prognostic variable for survival (p=0.04) in patients with squamous cell and cloacogenic carcinomas. CONCLUSION: Combined CRT has been adopted as standard treatment with outcomes that are comparable to those reported in randomized clinical trials. Due to the rarity and complexity of anal canal carcinoma, interdepartmental cooperation is required for disease treatment. Thus, proper treatment of patients should incorporate a team-approach and should be available to as many patients as possible.

Keyword

Anal canal cancer; neoplasm; chemotherapy; radiotherapy

MeSH Terms

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Anus Neoplasms/diagnosis/pathology/*therapy
Carcinoma/diagnosis/pathology/*therapy
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant
Combined Modality Therapy
Female
Hospitals
Humans
Korea
Male
Middle Aged
Prognosis
Radiotherapy, Adjuvant
Retrospective Studies
Treatment Outcome

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Overall survival in patients with squamous cell and cloacogenic carcinoma (crosses) versus adenocarcinoma (triangles) for stage I through III (p = 0.485).

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  Fig. 2 Overall survival according to treatment methods (p = 0.44). CRT, chemoradiation; APR, abdominoperinal resection.

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