Anal Cancer - Signs, Symptoms and Treatment

The organ lying just below the rectum at the end of the person's digestive tract is known as the anus.  There are two parts that make it up: the anus and the anal canal.  The canal is a structure about three or four centimeters long lying between the anal sphincter (a muscle which controls bowel movement), right beneath the rectum and anus, representing the transitional point between the outer skin and the digestive tract.  Muscles in the anus and anal canal control the passing of stool from inside the rectum to outside of the body.

Normal cell growth is when the cells grow and divide at a controlled pace, just enough to replace damaged or old cells.  However, sometimes cells will grow in an uncontrolled manner.  This is called a tumor.  A tumor can be either malignant or benign.  A malignant tumor grows in such a way as to invade and damage bodily tissues around them; benign tumors do not spread beyond the original body part or invade neighboring body tissue.  The malignant tumor we call cancer.

Anal cancer is a tumor that occurs either in the anus or in the anal canal.  About 80 percent of anal cancers in the U.S. are squamous cancers, resembling cells in the anal canal. For some reason, in other countries, this isn't true.  For instance, in Japan, it's estimated that 80 percent of anal caners resemble glandular cells from the rectum; this means they are 'adenocarcinomas' (meaning the cells resemble those from a different body structure than where the tumor is located).

An estimated 4,000 cases of anal cancer are diagnosed each yer in the United States.  The number of cases has been increasing steadily for three or four decades.  About 85 percent of these cases are among the Caucasian population. 

The chance of getting anal cancer gets higher with age; the average age is 62.  Also, while the incidence of anal cancer in the "anus proper" is divided evenly among women and men, cancers within the anal canal are more typically found among women.

People infected with HPV--the human papilloma virus--have a higher incidence of anal cancer than others.  HPV is often transmitted through sexual contact, meaning that people who have had a number of sexual partners and "anal receptive intercourse," and who have genital warts have a higher chance of infection--consequently increasing the person's chance of cancer.

HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has also shown a link with anal cancer.  However, there is a strong consensus that this is probably because HPV has been shown to have a strong link with anal cancer--and those with HIV are more likely to also have HPV.

Some other factors that seem to raise the person's chances of getting it include smoking, and suppression of the immune system.

Anal cancer is somewhat rare, and the chances of any one person getting it are quite low.  If you avoid the risk factors associated with anal cancer, you will lower your chance of getting it even more.  This  means being responsible with your sexual habits and quitting smoking.

One of the most common symptoms of anal cancer is bleeding from the rectum, occurring in around 50 percent of patients who have newly acquired the disease. About 30 percent report pain in the rectum, and the pain is often quite severe.  In a few rare instances, and usually when the cancer is advanced, the anal cancer disrupts the correct functioning of anal muscles, causing a loss of bowel control and movements.

Several treatment options are available for anal cancer. The most common is radiation therapy, in which high-energy xrays are delivered to areas that are considered high risk for the cancer.  This energy damages the DNA of the cancer cells, hopefully killing them.  In most cases, radiation is given to the patient Monday through Friday during a period of five or six week.  These treatment sessions are short and painless.

Another treatment method is chemotherapy, the use of medications that are given either as a pill or intravenously.  The medications travel through the bloodstream to kill the cancer cells.  One of the advantages of chemotherapy is that, because the medication goes throughout the body, even if some of the cancer cells have broken off and travelled somewhere else, the medications still have the chance of killing them.

In some cases, treatment involving both radiation therapy and chemotherapy is used. This is referred to as chemoradiotherapy.

Less commonly used today for anal cancer is surgery (though there was a time when it was the primary treatment option).  When this method is used, it consists of an excission of the anus, and permanent placement of a colostomy.  This allows stool to pass outside the body and collected in a bag.  The bag is then emptied by the patient as necessary.

As with any cancer, a patient's  chances for successful recovery improve with early diagnosis.  A patient who suspects the possibility of anal cancer should discuss the matter with his or her physician.