RT Book, Section A1 Bleier, Joshua I. S. A1 Mahmoud, Najjia N. A1 Fry, Robert D. A2 Zinner, Michael J. A2 Ashley, Stanley W. SR Print(0) ID 57016543 T1 Chapter 42. Cancer of the Anus T2 Maingot's Abdominal Operations, 12e YR 2013 FD 2013 PB The McGraw-Hill Companies PP New York, NY SN 978-0-07-163388-8 LK accesssurgery.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=57016543 RD 2024/03/29 AB Cancers of the anus are rare problems with diverse histology. While squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the anal canal remains by far the most common of these neoplasms and the main focus of this chapter, the anus may also harbor tumors such as adenocarcinoma, melanoma, and basal cell carcinoma. The treatment of anal cancer has undergone dramatic changes in the past 30 years. Multimodality treatment consisting of radiation and chemotherapy has replaced abdominoperineal resection or wide local excision as the mainstay of therapy. Five-year survival rates now exceed 80% and radical surgery is reserved for cancers of the anal canal that do not respond to chemoradiation or that subsequently recur locally. Our understanding of the etiology and epidemiology of anal SCC and its precursor lesions has also profoundly changed in the past few decades, yielding new initiatives in both therapy and prevention that may further alter the future treatment of this disease. The importance of the surgeon's role in the detection and diagnosis of anal cancer remains undiminished. The surgeon is the clinician most likely to diagnose the disease, delegate treatment, and provide follow-up care. Anal cancer is clearly a disease that benefits from multidisciplinary intervention. Because of this, the treatment of anal cancer serves as a paradigm for the multimodality treatment of cancer.