Vroegtijdige opsporing van voorstadia van een anaal carcinoom bij hiv-seropositieve patiënten

Abstract

Early detection of precursor lesions of anal cancer in HIV-seropositive patients Although anal cancer is rare in the overall population, its incidence is increasing in the last decades. Especially HIV-seropositive patients have an increased risk of developing anal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), mainly because of the high prevalence of high-grade anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) among these patients. High-grade AIN is a precursor lesion for anal SCC associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Despite the lack of direct evidence demonstrating that AIN identification reduces the risk of anal cancer, experts think that screening and treatment of high-risk patients will prevent the disease. This article aims to review the current literature about AIN and discusses the screening options, including digital rectal examination, anal cytology and high-resolution anoscopy.