Anal cancer, often wrongly considered a shameful disease, affects around 1,000 people in France each year. Here are the symptoms that can alert you.
- Anal cancer is little known, however it affects three times more patients than 30 years ago.
- The symptoms are not always identifiable but taken in time, this cancer is treatable.
In France, around 1,000 people suffer from anal cancer each year, three times more than 30 years ago. However, despite the growing number of cases, the disease remains largely unknown to the public. Dishonorable in the collective imagination, this cancer, unrelated to colorectal cancer, receives little media coverage. It affects both women and men, especially after 65 years. “While it was rare and only affected elderly women, its incidence is increasing sharply, and it is now of interest young men“, warned the doctors in a tribune of the World in 2018.
Symptoms of Anal Cancer
Anal cancer occurs in the anal canal, the end part of the digestive tract behind the rectum, and is characterized by anal bleeding and pain. These signs are quite similar to those seen in mild anal disorders like hemorrhoidal attacks, which makes it “low-key”. Especially since the first symptoms appear most of the time when the tumor has grown and has already invaded the adjacent tissues.
So if you are bleeding or have blood in your stool, it is necessary to consult your doctor. Discomfort or pressure in the anal area will also alert you. Itching, a mass or swelling near the anus or in the groin, or a narrowing of the intestinal transit, such as a narrowing of the stools should also warn you. The fact that these symptoms persist for some time is worrying.
Human papillomavirus is involved in 9 out of 10 cases
Nine out of ten cases occur after infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV). The disease vaccine is widely recommended for young girls to prevent cervical damage and cancer, but boys can only be vaccinated since 1erJanuary 2021. Indeed, although men under 26 who have sex with men have been able to receive the HPV vaccine and be reimbursed since 2017, boys had to wait until last year to be eligible.
According toNational Cancer Institute (Inca), anal cancer is the third most common cancer in people living with HIV. “HIV infection promotes the appearance of lesions associated with HPV and increases the risk of cancer. The anal mucosa is very vulnerable to the entry of viruses including HPV. Penetration, but also any other contact of the anal mucosa with a contaminated vector (finger, sex toy…), is a mode of HPV transmission “, explain the doctors.
How is anal cancer diagnosed?
As mentioned above, diagnosing anal cancer is complicated. Therefore, there are a series of reviews to confirm it. Your doctor will start by asking you questions about your symptoms, possible infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV), your sex life, including the number of partners and anal sex you may have had, or your family history. . As indicated by the Canadian Cancer Society, During the physical exam, your doctor may examine your anal area for lumps or abnormal areas of skin, perform a digital rectal exam (TR), feel your groin to check for swollen lymph nodes, or perform a pelvic exam or Palp test to check the condition of the vagina and cervix.
Finally, blood tests and an endoscopy may be performed. “Different types of endoscopy can be done to diagnose anal cancer and establish its stage. Their names vary depending on the structures or organs they allow to examine“, details the site. “Anoscopy allows the doctor to visualize the interior of the anal canal and the last part of the rectum using an anoscope. Proctoscopy makes it possible to visualize the entire rectum. Sigmoidoscopy makes it possible to visualize the rectum and the sigmoid colon (the last part of the colon)”. Finally, it is possible to carry out a transrectal ultrasound, a biopsy or an HIV test.
“For the remaining 20 to 30% of patients in whom the tumor persists or recurs, a very mutilating surgery must be proposed: abdomino-perineal amputation. As its name says little, this intervention proceeds to the ablation of the rectum to the anal canal and carries the device sphincter and perianal skin”, warn doctors in the World. Therefore, despite the inconveniences, it is imperative to consult a doctor as soon as possible. Anal cancer is easily treated with early diagnosis.