Carboplatin and Paclitaxel Treatment Is Effective in Advanced Anal Cancer

Abstract

Background: The development of distant metastases of squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCCA) is rare but has a poor prognosis. A combination of carboplatin and paclitaxel is commonly used for treating squamous cell cancer in different organs, but its efficacy in advanced SCCA is unclear. The objective of this study is to determine the tolerability and outcome of patients with advanced SCCA on carboplatin plus paclitaxel treatment at the Moffitt Cancer Center. Methods: Retrospective analysis was conducted by looking at records from the Moffitt Cancer Center Tumor Registry from January 2007 to January 2012. Eligible patients had to have a diagnosis of SCCA and have received carboplatin plus paclitaxel every 3 weeks as part of the treatment plan. Results: Eighteen patients fulfilled the criteria; 14 were initially diagnosed with early-stage disease and received concurrent chemoradiation, but then relapsed. Median age was 56 years. Upon diagnosis of metastatic disease, 12 patients received carboplatin plus paclitaxel as a first-line treatment. Five patients had received prior systemic chemotherapy regimens and 1 had received prior local regional therapy. The response rate was high at 53% including 3 patients who achieved a complete response. Median overall survival was 12.19 months. Conclusions: Carboplatin and paclitaxel treatment shows encouraging activity in advanced SCCA.

Platinum-Fluoropyrimidine and Paclitaxel-Based Chemotherapy in the Treatment of Advanced Anal Cancer Patients

“…Long‐term outcomes of our patient population were in line with previously reported data . Median overall survival was 14 months, and only 13% of patients were alive 5 years after the diagnosis of advanced disease.…”

Comprehensive Genomic Profiling of Metastatic Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Anal Canal

“…While the majority of patients afflicted with SCCA present with locoregional disease that can be definitively cured with chemoradiation 3,4 , approximately 25% of patients will develop distant metastases 5,6 . Median overall survival for metastatic SCCA is estimated between 15–20 months 7 , and patients are treated most commonly with standard cytotoxic doublet chemotherapy regimens 8–10 .…”

Radiation generates an abscopal response and complete resolution of metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal: a case report

“…However, a United Kingdom randomized trial of chemoradiotherapy for localized disease used a comparable regimen of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and mitomycin plus RT failed to demonstrate a reduction in distant metastasis compared to RT alone (17), suggesting the chemotherapy regimen used in our case was highly unlikely to produce a complete response in the overt metastatic disease. In addition, studies of palliative chemotherapy regimens with dose-intense schedules have reported response rates of approximately 50%, with complete response rates in the range of 6-20% (7,18,19). Typical palliative chemotherapy regimens for metastatic SCCA are cisplatin and 5-FU, or carboplatin and paclitaxel (7,8).…”