title: [Squamous cell carcinoma of the canal anal].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Anal cancer is an uncommon malignancy accounting for only a small (4%) percentage of intestinal cancer. The authors described the clinical aspects and the treatment of the patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the canal anal.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eleven patients with squamous cell carcinoma treated among 1995 and 1999, were analyzed retrospectively. Nine were women and two were men. The mean age was 57.6 years old (range 35-82 years old).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The most common symptoms were rectal bleeding, local tumor and pain. Six of them had previous anal benign disease and two had metastases at the diagnosis. All were submitted to systemic chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil and mitomycin and radiotherapy with 4500 cGy. Four patients had residual disease after chemo radiation and salvage surgery with abdominoperineal resection was done. Three patients had recurrence and four died from the disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most of our patients were women. The chemo radiation can be a curable treatment in patients with local disease; conversely in patients with residual disease, abdominoperineal resection must be done. Although anal cancer is an often curable disease, four patients died because the diagnosis was done in advanced stage.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de São Paulo, UNIFESP-EPM, São Paulo, SP.
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Guimarães
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Matos
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Segreto
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Forones
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001005:Anus Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors