How would you treat an elderly patient with squamous cell carcinoma of the anus who is not a chemotherapy candidate?
Would the presence of perianal extension and a positive inguinal lymph node affect your recommendation and how?
Answer from: Radiation Oncologist at Academic Institution
It's a suboptimal situation because chemotherapy improves relapse-free and colostomy-free survival, and possibly overall survival for all but the earliest stage patients. I would look into whether capecitabine alone might be an option as a radiosensitizer that might be more tolerable than mitomycin-...
Answer from: Radiation Oncologist at Community Practice
I have cured a number of patients over the years with both early and locally advanced anal cancers with radiotherapy alone when ineligible or refuses chemotherapy. Radiotherapy alone works well for early node negative disease, which was underrepresented in randomized trials of concurrent chemo. I ev...
Comments
Radiation Oncologist at Wellspan Sechler Family Cancer Center I agree. One of my most memorable patients was an ...