AEGiS-CATIE: Combination treatment for anal cancer

Combination treatment for anal cancer

TreatmentUpdate79 - Vol. 7, No. 9; July 1997
Sean Hosein

Background

Just as women with HIV infection can be at greater risk of cervical cancer, some men with HIV infection are also at increased risk of anal cancer. Doctors in San Francisco recently reviewed their records on 97 patients diagnosed and treated for anal cancer over a period of 8 years. The reviewers found 8 male PHAs in this group of 97.

Study Details

All subjects received a combination of chemotherapy and radiation:

* 5-FU (5-fluorouracil) at a dose of 1 g/square metre of skin given into a vein over 24 hours for 4 days each week.

* Mitomycin C 10 mg/square meter of skin via injection, once only.

* Radiation; 5 days weekly for 3 consecutive weeks -- "30 Gy in doses of 2 Gy/day."

After the third week, subjects received no treatment for one week then resumed chemotherapy with 5-FU as described earlier.

Results

Subjects were followed for an average of 3.5 years. Although all subjects recovered from cancer, therapy had to be interrupted in 4 subjects because of its toxicity on the bone marrow. At the time of their last check up, 4 were still alive, while the remaining 4 died of complications due to AIDS between 8 to 80 months after their recovery from cancer. Although a small study, its results suggest the combination of chemotherapy and radiation was effective in destroying cancer cells.

REFERENCES:

1. Peddada AV, Smith DE, Rao AR, et al. Chemotherapy and low-dose radiotherapy in the treatment of HIV-infected patients with carcinoma of the anal canal. International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology and Physics 1997;37(5):1101-1105.

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