Is the incidence of anal canal cancers different in Moslem societies?

Abstract

4233 Background: In the western world, cancers of the anal region account for 1% to 2% of all colon cancers and 3.9% of all anorectal carcinomas. The majority of these patients (75% to 80%) have squamous cell carcinomas and the rest have mainly adenocarcinomas. Many medical oncologists in Turkey state in their private communications that the anal cancers are rare in the Moslem world, due to different sanitary habits of these societies. There are no tumor registries established in the Moslem world to confirm this. In order to study this we reviewed local tumor registries in two university medical centers with respected oncological reputation. Methods: Marmara and Cerrahpasa University Hospital Medical Oncology Divisions' tumor registries are studied between 1990 and 2003. All patients whether they have received any chemo-radiotherapy or not are included in the tally. Results: There are 798 patients with large bowel carcinomas during that period and 9 (1.12%) of these patients have squamous cell carcinomas of anal canal. Conclusion: Even though sanitary behaviors are different in Moslem societies like our country, it appears that the ratio of anal to colorectal cancers are no different than what is reported in the western literature. No significant financial relationships to disclose.