How Is Anal Cancer Treated?

Your stage of anal cancer and your overall health will determine the method your doctor recommends for treating your illness. The main ways of attacking anal cancer are radiation, chemotherapy (drugs), and surgery. Often two or three of these strategies are used. The most widely used treatment for anal cancer is a combination of radiation and chemotherapy (chemoradiotherapy).

Your doctor will work with you to choose the best treatment for your anal cancer based on:

• Your age, overall health, and medical history
• Extent of the disease
• Grade and stage of the cancer
• Your tolerance of specific medicines, procedures, or therapies
• Expectations for the course of the disease
• Your opinion or preference

All treatments have benefits and risks. You and your doctor should carefully balance the potential benefits of any cancer treatment with its potential risks.

After the anal cancer is diagnosed and staged, your physician will recommend a treatment plan. Treatment may include:

• Radiation therapy - Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Both internal and external radiation therapies are used to treat anal cancer.
• Chemotherapy - Chemotherapy drugs kill cancerous cells. In most cases, chemotherapy works by stopping cancer cells from growing or reproducing, which kills the cells. Different types of chemotherapy drugs work in different ways. Chemotherapy, often in combination with radiation therapy, is used to treat many cases of anal cancer. The main chemotherapy drug combinations used for anal cancer are 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and mitomycin, and 5-FU and cisplatin.
• Surgery - Surgery used to be the main treatment for anal cancer, but today a combination of chemotherapy and radiation therapy is more likely to be used. If you do have surgery, the type of surgery you will have is called a local resection, which means that he or she will take out only the tumor and some healthy tissue around it. Another option is abdominoperineal resection, a more extensive operation in which the doctor takes out the anus and part of the rectum. 

This content has been reviewed and approved by Myo Thant, MD.