Squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal

What it is

Squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal is a rare epithelial intestinal neoplasm, arising from squamous epithelial cells in the anal canal, with variable macroscopic appearance, ranging from small, benign lesions (that mimick fissures, hemorrhoids or anorectal fistulae) to a large, exophytic or ulcerating tumor localized within the anal canal. Patients may be asymptomatic or present difficulty to defecate, anal bleeding, pain and/or discharge, and often have a history of chronic anal fistulae and abscesses, Crohn's disease, hemorrhoids, or, especially in younger patients, immunosuppression (such as HIV infection). Association with HPV infection is commonly reported.

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