Squamous-cell carcinoma of the anal canal: Management with combined chemo-radiation therapy

Twenty patients with squamous-cell carcinoma of the anal canal received combined chemo-radiation therapy as their primary treatment. There were 18 women and two men with a mean age of 63 years (range, 34–91 years). The mean follow-up was 34 months (range, 6–62 months). Anal margin cancers and adenocarcinomas were excluded. Fourteen of 20 patients treated had a complete response. There were six local failures: three with residual disease at the end of treatment and three with recurrent disease at a later date. Of the three with residual disease, one underwent abdominoperineal resection and two received salvage therapy (one with chemo-radiation and one with radiation alone). All three patients with recurrent disease were treated with abdominoperineal resection. All six were disease free at the end of the study. Of the 14 patients with complete local response, one presented with liver metastases 19 months later. Sixteen patients (80 percent) were alive at the end of the study, and 19 patients (95 percent) had no evidence of disease. These data add support for salvage therapy in the treatment of patients with residual disease following initial chemo-radiation therapy. Salvage options for patients with squamous-cell carcinoma of the anus who fail the Nigro protocol will be discussed.Read at the meeting of The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, St. Louis, Missouri, April 29 to May 4, 1990.     

Squamous-cell carcinoma of the anal canal: room for improvement with targeted therapy

Carcinoma of the anal canal is a rare disease accounting for 1-5% of gastrointestinal tract malignancies. However, its incidence is increasing worldwide. Chemoradiation is the standard treatment for most patients with squamous-cell carcinoma of the anal canal and was first described by Nigro et al. Since then, no other effective treatment was developed. Patients with metastatic disease should be considered candidates for clinical trials. New treatment strategies, including molecular target therapies, are warranted in order to improve disease control. Despite the rarity of this disease, it is urgent to improve its treatment by introducing targeted therapy in the arena.     

Squamous-cell carcinoma of the anus

The five-year survival rate in 72 patients who underwent treatment for squamous-cell carcinoma of the anus in Stockholm County (1972 to 1978) has been studied. There were no differences in survival rates after rectum-preserving treatment (mainly consisting of irradiation±cytostatics ±local excision) as compared with extensive surgery (abdominoperineal resection), even if the tumor size, location, and differentiation were taken into consideration. It therefore seems appropriate to suggest irradiation±cytostatics as the therapy of choice regardless of size, location, and differentiation of the tumor.     

Two siblings with lichen planus and squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus

Lichen planus is a mucocutaneous disease which can also affect the oesophagus. Unlike in oral lichen planus an increased risk for the development of squamous cell carcinoma in the oesophagus has not been established. We describe two sisters with a history of long-standing cutaneous lichen planus who developed oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma, diagnosed at the ages of 68 and 70 years, respectively. In one of the cases, dysplastic areas were identified by high-magnification chromoendoscopy. In both cases, oesophageal resection was carried out with a curative intent. For the first time these sibling case reports suggest an increased precancerous potential of oesophageal lichen planus.     

Squamous-cell carcinoma of the anus

Summary Seventy-six cases of squamous-cell carcinoma of the anus are reviewed—11 of these were classified as anal-margin tumors and 65 as anal-canal carcinomas. Fifty-nine of these were available for five-year follow-up, ten having been treated within the last five years, and seven were lost to follow-up. The five-year survival rate for nine patients with neoplasms arising at the anal margin was 67 per cent (six survivors) and for 50 patients with anal-canal neoplasms, 32 per cent (16 survivors). Radiotherapy proved unsatisfactory, and radical excision was the only method of treatment which carried reasonable prospects of cure. Read at the meeting of the American Proctologic Society, New York, New York, June 11 to 14, 1972.     

Squamous-cell carcinoma of the anus

Summary The records of 102 patients with squamous-cell carcinoma of the anus are analyzed. A protocol for the evaluation and management of this lesion is outlined. Read before the meeting of the Pennsylvania State Medical Society, Host Farm, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, November 18, 1970.     

Squamous-cell carcinoma of the colon

Primary squamous-cell and adenosquamous-cell carcinoma of the colon are uncommon and their characteristics not well known. This paper reports the clinical features and pathologic findings of two colonic adenosquamous carcinomas and reviews other reports of adenosquamous and squamous carcinoma of the colon from the English medical literature. Including these two cases, 63 cases have been reported since 1927. Of these, six occurred in patients with ulcerative colitis, three occurred at the colonic opening of chronic colocutaneous fistulas, and concomitant schistosomiasis was present in two patients. Synchronous squamous-cell carcinoma of the colon was present in 3.2 percent of cases and 10 percent had either antecedent, synchronous, or metachronous adenocarcinoma of the colon. These lesions appeared to be distributed uniformly throughout the colon. The five-year survival after resective therapy for primary squamous-cell and adenosquamous-cell carcinoma of the colon calculated with life table analysis is 50 percent for Dukes' B lesions, 33 percent for Dukes' C lesions, and 0 percent for Dukes' D lesions.     

Steroid therapy of vulvovaginal lichen planus

Conclusions The authors conclude that topical hydrocortisone vaginal suppositories are a valuable addition to the therapeutic armamentarium for vulvovaginal lichen planus, a therapeutic alternative to systemic, often toxic, immunosuppressive anti-inflammatory therapy.     

Hepatitis C virus and lichen planus

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an important factor in the development of chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma. In recent years it has become known that HCV induces various extrahepatic manifestations including mixed cryoglobulinemia, membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, Sjögren's syndrome, autoimmune thyroiditis, malignant lymphoma, porphyria cutanea tarda and lichen planus. Although the mechanisms of extrahepatic manifestations remain unclear, it is known that interferon (IFN) therapy and coadministration of IFN with ribavirin are effective in promoting the disappearance or alleviation of such extrahepatic lesions, which have tended to be overlooked. The present review focuses on lichen planus, one of the major extrahepatic manifestations. © 2004 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd