Chemotherapy in the treatment of anal canal carcinoma.
Squamous cell carcinomas of the anal canal are generally diagnosed at a localized or locally advanced stage and only 5% are metastatic at the time of diagnosis. Advanced forms are therefore much rarer than localized forms and usually correspond to metachronous metastases of initially localized disease. Systemic chemotherapy is indicated for the treatment of both localized disease, in combination with radiotherapy, and metastatic disease. The purpose of this article is to define the current indications and modalities of chemotherapy in the treatment of these cancers based on a review of the published data and in the light of available guidelines.
Department of Medical Oncology, Groupe Hospitalier, Institut Curie, 26 rue d'Ulm, 75248 Paris Cédex 5, France.
Wulfran
W
Cacheux
Astrid
A
Lievre
Anne
A
De La Rochefordiere
Barbara
B
Dieumegard
Frédérique
F
Cvitkovic
Alain
A
Labib
Emmanuel
E
Mitry
Bruno
B
Buecher
D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001005:Anus Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic