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Standard therapy for anal squamous cancer combines chemotherapy with infusional 5-fluorouracil, mitomycin, and radiation therapy without surgery. The recommended time to assess response is 6 to 12 weeks after initiation of chemoradiotherapy. Patients with incomplete response are referred for salvage abdominal perineal resection.
To evaluate the optimal timing of assessment of clinical response to chemoradiotherapy in anal squamous cancer, investigators in the U.K. have conducted a retrospective analysis of the randomized, phase III ACT II trial (Lancet Oncol 2013; 14:516), which compared the use infusional 5-fluorouracil with either mitomycin or cisplatin and radiation therapy in 940 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the anus without …