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Anal Cancer - Treatment

Treatment Of Anal Cancer

The treatment given to a patient depends on the stage of the cancer and the patients overall health, as well as their preferences.

Anal cancer is usually treated with a combination of chemotherapy and radiation.  When these treatments are combined, they enhance each other and improve the chances of cure.

Chemotherapy - Chemotherapy drugs are injected into veins or taken as pills.  The chemicals then travel through the body killing rapidly growing cells, such as cancer cells.  Unfortunately they also damage healthy cells which grow rapidly, such as those in the gastrointestinal tract and in the hair follicles.

Radiation therapy - This treatment uses high powered beams such as x-rays to kill cancer cells.

Surgery - There are different procedures to remove anal cancer, depending on the stage of the cancer.

Surgery to remove early stage anal cancer
    Used for very small anal cancers which haven not spread beyond the anal canal.  During the procedure the surgeon removes the tumor and a small amount of healthy tissue around it.  Since the tumors at this stage are small, they can be often removed without damaging the anal sphincter muscles which surround the anal canal.  Since these muscles control bowel movements, the surgeon will work to keep the muscles intact.

Surgery for late stage anal cancers or anal cancers which have not responded to other treatments
    In this case, the doctors may recommend a more extensive operation called abdominoperineal resection which is also referred to as an AP resection.  In this procedure the surgeon removes the anal canal, rectum and a portion of the colon.  The surgeon then attaches the remaining portion of the colon to an opening in the abdomen (Stoma) through which waste will leave the body and collect in a colostomy bag.

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