Anal Cancer – Viable Treatment Alternatives

Anal cancer treatment is dependent on an array of factors inclusive of the site, form and staging of the tumor, along with the age, general health conditions and personal choices. The doctor would discuss treatment alternatives in length with the patient and chart out the most effectual plan best suited for that particular condition.

In majority of the patients, invasive anal cancer can be cured, especially in case of early diagnosis and the tumors are small-sized. The treatment for anal cancers generally involves a combination of chemotherapy and radiation that leads to complete regression of the tumors in eighty to ninety percent of the cases.

Surgical intervention might become necessary in some forms of cancers not responding to chemotherapy and radiation or in those cases when a relapse has occurred following treatment with chemotherapy and radiation.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy employs the use of drugs for obliterating the cancer cells. Chemotherapy could be taken in either pill form or an intravenous administration of the drugs. Chemotherapy is known as systemic therapy as the drugs after gaining entry into the bloodstream, move throughout the body killing cancer cells on their route. Some of the drugs used in chemotherapy make the cancer cells more responsive to radiation therapy.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy employs the use of X-rays or other high-power beams for killing the cancer cells and shrivelling tumors. Radiation is emitted via a machine located outside the body also known as external radiation therapy. Alternatively during internal radiation therapy, radiation-emitting materials or radioisotopes are passed via fine plastic tubes to the location of cancerous growth. Radiation could be carried out alone or alongside other treatments.

Side Effects

Those undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy experience snowballing side effects that have a tendency to deteriorate as the therapy prolongs. Immediately occurring side effects comprise of:

• Skin rashes with reddishness in the area around the anus.
• Skin inflammation.
• Sporadic open sores or ulcerous growths.
• GI or gastrointestinal tract gets inflamed leading to diarrhea that might be accompanied by the appearance of oral sores.
• Tenderness, pain, discomfort and inflammation experienced in the rectum.
• Recurrent sensation of pressure or the need to defecate.
• Depleted blood counts with likely sepsis.

Tardy side effects could comprise of:

• Skin rashes with accompanying formation of scar tissue.
• Deep-seated anal ulcers.
• Anal tissue death and at times stenosis might occur.
• Constriction of the anus that might require colostomy among 6-12% of patients.
• Infertility and sexual dysfunction.
• A slight risk element of developing treated-associated leukemia, generally considered to be linked to the therapy, mitomycin.

Surgery

Some of the small-sized anal tumors that have not metastasized to other areas may be removed by a surgical procedure known as local excision. Surgical intervention procedure involves the removal of tumor from the anus along with some adjacent normal tissue. The sphincter muscle is spared during surgery so that control could be gained over bowel movements following surgery.

In other situations where the tumor is not responding to chemotherapy and radiation or in cases where in the tumor relapses subsequent to a noticeable preliminary response, an operative procedure known as abdominoperineal resection might be needed. During this surgical procedure, a slit is made in the abdomen through which the cancerous growths present in the anus, rectum, section of the colon and any lymph nodes are taken out. The tip of the colon is then brought to the abdominal surface for creating an artificial aperture, known as a colostomy. The colostomy acts as a replacement to the anus that allows the faeces to pass directly from the colon into a bag that is disposable in nature, placed outside the body. The patient would be taught means to managing and incorporating colostomy into their lifestyle.