Cervical cancer and anal cancer share many similarities including causation by oncogenic human papillomaviruses; however, significant differences exist in their epidemiology, risk factors, biologic behavior, management, and treatment. Although rare, the incidence of anal cancer is alarmingly high and continues to increase in high-risk populations, particularly men who have sex with men regardless of their human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status. There are no national screening guidelines for anal cancer. Using the success of cervical cancer screening as a model, anal cancer screening approaches apply anal cytology, highresolution anoscopy, and directed biopsy to guide treatment and management strategies. Although much has been learned about the natural history and epidemiology of anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN), the rate of progression of high-grade anal intraepithelial neoplasia (HGAIN) to invasive squamous cell carcinomas is not known. The impact of screening and treatment of HGAIN on morbidity and mortality from anal cancer are also unknown. Because the incidence of HGAIN and anal squamous cell carcinoma continue to increase, it is imperative to find pathways for effective screening, early detection, and therapeutic intervention. This article provides an overview of anal cancer screening while highlighting its differences from cervi- Compared with cervical cancer, anal cancer is rare. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 5260 patients will be diagnosed with anal cancer in 2010 and that 720 men and women will die of the disease. 1 Compare this to cervical cancer statistics in the United States for 2010: 12,200 will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and 4210 women will die and this is with successful opportunistic Papanicolaou (Pap) testing to screen for this cancer in the United States. Yet, in patients with the highest risk of anal cancer, its incidence was more than double that of cervical cancer prior to the initiation of Pap screening and is increasing, while rates for cervical cancer continue to decrease. As the incidence of anal carcinoma increases in populations at risk, cytologic screening, combined with early detection and treatment, has been proposed as a method to reduce the morbidity and mortality from invasive anal squamous cell carcinoma (ASCC).

BACKGROUNDAnal carcinoma incidence is increasing, and is highest among men with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection who have sex with men. Anal carcinoma and anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) are ascertained on tissue histology, but requires invasive procedures. Screening for AIN using anal cytology was suggested. The authors evaluated agreement on cytologic and biopsy specimens from HIV‐positive men undergoing anal carcinoma screening.METHODSOne hundred twenty‐nine HIV‐positive men with a history of anal‐receptive intercourse underwent anal cytology, anoscopy, and biopsy. Four pathologists independently assessed cytology and biopsy specimens and reached consensus for discordant cases.RESULTSEach pathologist evaluated 120 cytology and 155 biopsy specimens. The weighted kappa value for overall agreement was 0.54 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.49–0.59) for cytology specimens and 0.59 (95%CI, 0.55–0.63) for biopsy specimens. The median kappa values for pairwise agreement among pathologists and for agreement with consensus were, respectively, 0.69 and 0.77 for cytology and 0.66 and 0.75 for biopsy. At least 3 pathologists were in agreement for 92 (76.7%) cytology and 134 (86.5%) biopsy specimens. Reliability for the Bethesda classification system was at least moderate, except for the cytologic category of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (kappa = 0.12). Fourteen of 29 (48.3%) cytology specimens and 36 of 47 (76.6%) biopsy specimens with consensus interpretation of high‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) were interpreted originally as HSIL by ≥ 3 pathologists. The kappa value for agreement with consensus distinguishing HSIL from non‐HSIL ranged from 0.55 to 0.88 for cytology specimens and from 0.76 to 0.94 for biopsy specimens.CONCLUSIONSAgreement for cytologic and biopsy interpretations was generally at least moderate. Nevertheless, these results supported the need for disease indicators with greater reliabililty. Cancer 2005. © 2005 American Cancer Society.

Men who have sex with men referred for treatment of either condyloma or noncondylomatous benign anorectal disease had a high prevalence of anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions and anal squamous-cell cancer. All men who have sex with men referred for treatment of benign anorectal disease should have high-resolution anoscopy and aggressive biopsy of all abnormal areas. Treatment of external lesions alone could miss high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions or anal squamous-cell cancer.

Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology of soft-tissue tumors is evolving. As more experience is gained, we are becoming aware of potential pitfalls. We describe 2 cases of synovial sarcoma of the lung, primary and metastatic, in patients who had FNA biopsy performed on a lung mass. The cytologic smears showed extremely cellular groups of malignant small round cells, intersected by small blood vessels, with numerous loose single cells, in a background of macrophages and mature lymphocytes. The tumors displayed monomorphic cells forming rosettes and displaying occasional mitoses. A diagnosis of neuroendocrine tumor/primitive neuroepithelial tumor (PNET) was suspected. Furthermore, this suspicion was supported by immunohistochemical stains, which showed positivity for a neuroendocrine marker, Leu 7 (case 1), and for a neural marker, CD 99 (O 13 or HBA 71) (both cases); and negativity for cytokeratins (case 1). The resection specimen of case 1 had mostly tightly packed small round cells, with occasional rosettes, similar to the FNA biopsy, and focal areas composed of spindle cells, organized in a focal fibrosarcoma-like and hemangiopericytoma-like pattern. A balanced translocation between chromosomes X and 18, demonstrated by both karyotyping and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), enabled us to make a diagnosis of synovial sarcoma, which was histologically classified as poorly differentiated. Case 2 was a metastatic biphasic synovial sarcoma of the arm, with a prominent epithelial component. Synovial sarcoma, when composed mainly of small round cells on cytologic smears, is a great mimicker of neuroendocrine/PNET tumors, with light microscopic and immunohistochemical overlap. Awareness of this potential pitfall may aid in preventing a misdiagnosis. Its recognition is of major concern, especially for the poorly differentiated variant, because it is associated with a worse prognosis.

\s=b\Verrucous carcinoma of the larynx is a distinct and uncommon variant of wel l \x=req-\ differentiated squamous cell carcinoma.By DNA hybridization techniques, we clearly demonstrated human papillomavirus HPV-16\p=n-\related)sequences in five patients with this neoplasm. In addition, HPV-16\p=n-\relatedsequences were found in adjacent normal tissues. The DNAs from squamous cell carcinomas of the larynx were negative when hybridized to HPV-6, -11, or -16. Postirradiation anaplastic transformation of verrucous carcinoma has been described. We believe that radiotherapy should not be given unless the potential consequences are fully explained because of its potential to activate or alter HPV-16\p=n-\relatedsequences. (Arch Otolaryngol 1985;111:709-715) Verrucous carcinoma was original¬ ly recognized as a variant of squamous cell carcinoma involving the oral cavity and later the larynx.1 Clinically, the lesions present as graywhite, exophytic, warty growths that tend to grow slowly and are not asso¬ ciated with metastasis to regional cer¬ vical lymph nodes. The tumor most frequently originates on the true vocal cords. The incidence of verrucous car¬ cinoma of the larynx is 1% to 2% of all the malignant neoplasms affecting this organ, with the peak occurrence at ages 40 to 69 years and with a clear