March 25, 2013

Anal cancer may be on the rise in the U.S.

By Logan Lafferty

The number of people in the U.S. with anal cancer has tripled since the 1970s, according to a new study…Dr. Robert Cima, a surgeon in the department of colon and rectal surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said that could also mean the number of squamous cell carcinomas did not change that much in people without HIV or weakened immune systems. "It does show up, but certainly a patient without risk factors is at very low risk for developing this kind of cancer, and a blanket screening program across the country for all patients would not be a useful approach," said Cima, who was not involved in the new study.

 

Reuters by Andrew S. Seaman

Tags: anal cancer, Cancer, carcinoma, diagnosis increase, Dr. Robert Cima, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Research, Reuters, squamous cell cancer

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