Adenocarcinoma of the anal canal

What it is

A very rare tumor of the intestine, originating from the epithelium of the anal canal (including the mucosal surface, anal glands, and lining of fistulous tracts), macroscopically appearing as a nodular, often ulcerated, invasive mass located in the anal canal. Patients often present with rectal bleeding, as well as difficulty and pain during defecation. Inguinal lymphadenopathy, if present, usually indicates metastatic spread.

Key facts

Prevalence

1-9 / 1 000 000 (annual incidence, Europe)

Age of onset

Adult

Inheritance

Not applicable

Classified as

Disease

Prevalence figures describe populations, not individuals, and are often estimates from a single study. Where the figure is an incidence or a birth prevalence, it says so.

Signs and symptoms

These ranges are how often a sign appears across everyone diagnosed, not a prediction for one person — most people have some of these and not others. Orphanet also records findings that are specifically absent in this disease; those are in the data but not listed here.

ICD-10 codes

ICD-10 has no distinct code for most rare diseases, so many are filed under the nearest available one. A shared code identifies the group, not this disease — the ORPHAcode above is what identifies it.

Related health topics

Reached through the ICD-10 categories this disease is filed under, so these describe the broader group rather than this disease specifically.

Cross-references