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Anal cancer is a rare lesion that occurs in about 5000 Americans annually. Primary treatment with mitomycin and fluorouracil (5-FU), with concurrent radiotherapy and without surgery, is the standard treatment for localized disease because the rate of complete response to this therapy regimen is about 60%. Salvage surgery that includes colostomy is required in 10% to 20% of anal cancer patients, and about 65% of anal cancer patients survive disease free for 5 years. But might induction therapy raise response rates even higher?
Researchers now report the results of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) trial 98-11 on anal cancer. Two novel strategies were investigated in this trial: Adding 2 cycles of induction chemotherapy before radiothera…