State of the art treatment for stage I to III anal squamous cell carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Anal cancer is a rare malignancy contributing to fewer than 3% of gastrointestinal malignant tumours [1]. With 1-2 cases per 100,000 population annually [2], its incidence is low but has been rising in recent years [2-5]. In Europe, 5-year survival is approximately 57% [2]. The most important specific cause is an infection with high-risk HPV types (most commonly HPV 16 or 18) [6, 7], and risk factors are increased exposure (number of sex partners [6], receptive anal sex [6, 8], history of HPV-infections at other genital sites [8-11]) and decreased clearance of HPV (immunodeficiency [12-15], smoking [6, 16, 17]).
Source: Radiotherapy and Oncology - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Review Article Source Type: research