Anal squamous cell carcinoma (ASCC) is a rare malignancy, albeit with an increasing prevalence in most economically developed countries. Despite considerable advances in our understanding of the biology of ASCC, chemoradiotherapy (CRT) remains the standard-of-care therapy for most patients, albeit with promising data emerging on the role of CRT plus immune-checkpoint inhibitors in the metastatic setting. In this Review, the authors describe the biology of ASCC and relate this to the various attempts to improve outcomes via the development of more effective systemic therapies and/or combinations.
- Franz Rödel
- Maximilian Fleischmann
- Emmanouil Fokas
