New research was virtually presented at ACG 2020, the Virtual Annual Scientific Meeting & Postgraduate Course of the American College of Gastroenterology.
Data indicate that more than 90% of squamous anal cancer cases are associated with HPV, suggesting these cancer are a potentially preventable neoplasm with early immunization. With recent data suggesting an increase in the incidence of anal cancer, investigators conducted a stud to assess the annual percent change (APC) of anal cancer among Americans younger and older than 50 and to explore the APC among these two populations by histology type, gender, and race. ICD codes were used to identify cases of AC diagnosed from 2001-2016 in the SEER database. Among the 91,679 cases during the study period, 81.3% occurred in patients aged 50 or older, 62.5% in females, 86.7% in Caucasians, and 10.9% in African Americans. By histology type, 82.5% were squamous cell carcinoma, 10.6% adenocarcinoma, 1.5% melanoma, 0.7% carcinoid, and 4.7% other types. The incidence rate increased since 2001 (APC, 2.1) and in those aged 50 or older (APC, 2.8), but not in those younger than 50. Patients aged 50 and older had an increased incidence of squamous cell carcinoma (APC, 3.7), while adenocarcinoma incidence decreased (-1.3). In those aged and older, females had a higher risk than males (APC, 3.3 vs 2.1) and Caucasians had a higher risk than African Americans (APC, 3.0 vs 2.1).
