The tumor is larger than 1 in. (2 cm) and has spread into the muscle wall of the anus (the sphincter muscle is involved), but does not involve lymph nodes or other adjacent organs.
Standard Treatment Current treatment is combination chemotherapy with 5-FU + mitomycin-C or cisplatin + 5-FU plus radiation therapy . When the response is not complete, the tumor can be removed surgically.
The result of treatment with 5-FU + mitomycin-C + radiotherapy is better than radiotherapy alone for all tumor stages. The omission of mitomycin-C reduced hematologic toxicity but gave lower primary tumor control.
The treatment options for anal cancer involving the sphincter are the same as for Stage I.
Five-Year Survival 75 percent
Stage IIIA
TNM T4, N0, M0 or T1-3, N1, M0
The cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes or has spread to nearby organs such as the vagina, urethra or bladder (it is often hard to determine Stage IIIA, since many patients clinically appear to be Stage II).
