Treatment that follows guidelines closely dramatically improves overall survival of patients with anal canal and margin cancers

BackgroundTo assess relevance of ESMO-ESSO-ESTRO treatment guidelines in a retrospective analysis of patients with anal canal or anal margin cancers.Material and methods155 patients were separated into standard treatment group (STG), treated according to or closely the guidelines, and an altered treatment group (ATG).ResultsThe median follow-up time was 50.7 months. In the STG, the 5- and 10-year LR-DFS rates were 75.2% and 72.7%; in the ATG, they were 66.8% and 61.2%, respectively. In the STG, the 5- and 10-year OS rates were 81.8% and 68%; in the ATG, they were 63.3% and 49.5%, respectively (p = 0.037). In the multivariate analysis, favorable prognostic factors for OS included the standard treatment, age <60, tumor 50.4 Gy.ConclusionThis study identifies the superiority of treatment according to standard guidelines compared to altered treatment. Our results corroborate the guidelines.