Objective: To investigate the clinical features and treatment of anal canal adenocarcinoma.
Methods: Clinical data of 49 patients with anal canal adenocarcinoma treated in our hospital from January 1965 to March 2002 were analyzed retrospectively.
Results: The ratio of male to female was 1.3. The median age was 56 years old. Anal bleeding, tapering stool and anal lump were the most common symptoms. Chronic perianal diseases were complicated in 36.7% of the cases. The median follow-up was 66 months. Local recurrence and inguinal lymph node metastasis were found in 7 cases respectively, lung metastasis in 2, supraclavicular and mediastinal metastasis in 1 respectively. The 3-year survival rates in the patients with resection alone, radiochemotherapy alone, resection combined with radiochemotherapy, and without any treatment were 41.3%, 20.0%, 56.3% and 15.0%, respectively, and the 5-year survival rates were 34.4%, 0, 37.5%, 0, respectively.
Conclusions: Anal canal adenocarcinoma is a rare and fatal malignancy. Abdomino-perineal resection combined with postoperative radiochemotherapy is the principal treatment.