title: Sphincter preservation in anal cancer: a brief review.
abstract: Management of anal cancer is a challenge. The goal of treatment is to eradicate tumor without sacrificing the anal sphincters. The idea of organ preservation emerged following the discovery of a high complete response rate from preoperative combined chemoradiation (CRT) prior to abdominoperineal resection.CRT is widely accepted as the standard therapy for treating anal squamous cell cancer. The combination of external beam radiotherapy with interstitial brachytherapy increases the dose to the tumor volume and decreases dose to normal tissues. The current goal is to avoid colostomy, and surgery has become a salvage or secondary therapy. In this article, we review the non-surgical management of anal cancer with special emphasis on CRT, role of intensity modulated radiation therapy and brachytherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Regional Cancer Centre, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. dr_divya_khosla@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Divya
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Khosla
authors.forename: Ritesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Rakesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kapoor
authors.forename: Suresh C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Sharma
mesh_terms: D001003:Anal Canal; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001005:Anus Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D001918:Brachytherapy; D059248:Chemoradiotherapy; D003125:Colostomy; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents