Anal Cancer Treatment Outcomes: A Single-Center Experience

Anal cancer is a relatively uncommon malignancy, accounting for approximately 2.5% of all gastrointestinal cancers. This retrospective study included patients diagnosed and treated with anal cancer between February 1, 2015 and February 1, 2025 at Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center in Zagreb, Croatia. A total of 42 patients met the inclusion criteria. All 42 patients had histologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma. At the time of diagnosis, 35 patients (83.33%) had localized or locoregionally advanced disease (stage I–III), 6 patients (14.29%) had metastatic (stage IV) disease, and 1 patient had an unknown disease stage. Most patients (31; 83.78%) received radical- dose (chemo)radiotherapy at some point during their disease. In patients with primary chemoradiotherapy as initial treatment, the complete response rate was 56.52% (13 patients). At the cut-off date (February 1, 2025), 31 patients (73.81%) were alive. Median follow-up was 24.82 months. For the whole study cohort, neither 2-year nor 5-year overall survival was reached. The findings of our single-center study demonstrate that definitive chemoradiotherapy is an effective treatment for anal cancer, with high rates of local control and overall survival.