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Anal squamous cell carcinoma: a retrospective case series

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Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 -) Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Anal cancer is a relatively rare cancer with 660 cases diagnosed in 2000–2015 in Ireland (1). The current standard treatment is radical chemoradiotherapy (CRT). The aim of our study was to review the treatment and outcomes of patients with localised anal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), who received radical treatment in our radiation oncology network between 2008 and 2014 inclusive.

Methods

Data were collected retrospectively from ARIA® oncology information system and patient charts. Statistical analyses were performed using IBM® SPSS® statistical software version 25.0.

Results

Seventy-nine cases of anal SCC were identified. Mean age of patients at commencement of radiotherapy (RT) was 60.2 years (standard deviation: 13.1 years). The most common total RT dose was 50.4 Gy in 28 fractions (N = 58; 73.4%). Median follow-up was 5.6 years. Two (2.6%) patients had persistent disease, seventeen (21.8%) patients developed loco-regional recurrence and nine (11.5%) patients developed solid organ metastases, four of whom had complete treatment response at the primary site. Eight patients underwent salvage anal surgery following completion of RT. Median overall survival was 10.5 years (95% confidence interval (CI) 5.1–15.8 years), median loco-regional relapse-free survival was 10.4 years (95% CI 4.4–16.3 years) and median disease-free survival was 9.3 years (95% CI 6.3–12.2 years).

Conclusion

Our study demonstrates that treatment for anal SCC and outcomes following definitive CRT in Ireland during the study period were comparable to international standards.

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Availability of data and material

Data are available from the corresponding author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, St Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network, Dublin, Ireland

    Orla Anne Houlihan, Orla Monaghan, Siobhra O’Sullivan, Killian Nugent, Osama Salib, Charles Gillham, Gerard McVey, Clare Faul, Moya Cunningham, John Armstrong & Brian D. P. O’Neill

  2. Clinical Trials Resource Unit, St Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network, Dublin, Ireland

    Mary Dunne

  3. Department of Surgery, Tallaght University Hospital, Dublin 24, Ireland

    Paul Neary

  4. Department of Surgery, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin 7, Ireland

    Ronan Cahill

  5. Department of Surgery, St James’s Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland

    Brian Mehigan

  6. Department of Surgery, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9, Ireland

    Deborah A. McNamara

Authors
  1. Orla Anne Houlihan
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  2. Orla Monaghan
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  3. Siobhra O’Sullivan
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  4. Killian Nugent
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  5. Mary Dunne
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  6. Paul Neary
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  7. Ronan Cahill
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  8. Brian Mehigan
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  9. Deborah A. McNamara
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  10. Osama Salib
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  11. Charles Gillham
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  12. Gerard McVey
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  13. Clare Faul
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  14. Moya Cunningham
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  15. John Armstrong
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  16. Brian D. P. O’Neill
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Correspondence to Orla Anne Houlihan.

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Houlihan, O.A., Monaghan, O., O’Sullivan, S. et al. Anal squamous cell carcinoma: a retrospective case series. Ir J Med Sci 191, 681–686 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-021-02643-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-021-02643-x

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