Background and Current Treatment of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Anus.

In this review, a summary of our current understanding of squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SCCA) and the advances in our knowledge of SCCA regarding screening, prevention, the role of the immune system, current treatment and the potential for novel targets are discussed. The present standard of care in terms of treatment is 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and mitomycin C (MMC) concurrently with radiation, which results in a high level of disease control for small early cancers. Preservation of the anal sphincter is achieved in the majority, although anorectal function is often impaired.

Clinical target volumes in anal cancer: calculating what dose was likely to have been delivered in the UK ACT II trial protocol.

Purpose: Preliminary results of the UK Anal Cancer Trial (ACT) II trial in squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SCCA) are promising, but 2-D planning with parallel-opposed fields provoked significant toxicity. We calculated likely doses delivered in the ACT II protocol to the planning target volume (PTV), nodal clinical target volumes (n-CTV) and organs at risk (OARs).

Methods And Materials: Original planning CT datasets of 33 consecutive patients with SCCA, included in the ACT II trial or treated to an identical protocol, enabled dose to the primary tumour, involved nodal PTV's, uninvolved nodal CTVs (inguino-femoral and pelvic lymph nodes) and femoral heads to be retrospectively calculated.

Antiepidermal growth factor receptor radiosensitizers in rectal cancer.

The activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway correlates with a worse prognosis in many solid tumours. Hence, EGFR inhibitors have been developed as a treatment for cancer. The EGFR inhibitor cetuximab has been successfully combined with radical radiotherapy in head and neck cancer.

Cetuximab and chemoradiation for rectal cancer--is the water getting muddy?

Unlabelled: The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor cetuximab has been successfully combined with radical radiotherapy in head and neck cancer. In colorectal cancer, increased response rates are achieved by cetuximab and panitumumab within standard chemotherapy schedules, but not in chemoradiation regimens. This review examines the clinical evidence and potential mechanisms for an interaction when EGFR inhibitors are added to fluoropyrimidine-based chemoradiation in rectal adenocarcinoma.