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What is anal cancer, and how does it differ from colorectal cancer?

Anal cancer is a completely different disease with a different biology. It’s also treated differently.

Colorectal cancers tend to be adenocarcinomas, which arise from the glands in the gastrointestinal tract. Anal cancers, on the other hand, tend to be squamous cell carcinomas, which develop on the surfaces lining the body.  

Anal cancer is also primarily caused by HPV infection; colorectal cancer is not.  

The two cancers are also treated differently. The standard treatment for anal cancer is chemoradiation alone if the cancer hasn’t spread. But colorectal cancer may be treated with some combination of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, depending on its location.