What the trial was testing
The ANCHOR enrolled 4,446 patients with anal cancer. The study was sponsored by AIDS Malignancy Consortium and tracked outcomes across the full group of patients who matched the trial's eligibility profile.
It was a large trial designed to confirm whether the treatment works well enough for wider use. Trials at this stage are designed to produce evidence regulators and physicians can act on — not just observations to follow up later.
What the results showed
57% lower rate of anal cancer with treatment vs. active monitoring.
New England Journal of Medicine · 2022 · NCT02135419
These findings — that of progression to anal cancer over two years with treatment of high-grade lesions — were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and represent the headline result of the study.
Researchers tracked outcomes across 4,446 patients enrolled in the trial. The result was consistent enough across the group that the team felt confident reporting it.
What this means for patients
For patients with anal cancer, this result changes the calculus on what to ask their care team about. Whether it changes day-to-day care depends on factors like disease subtype, prior treatments, and where the patient is in their care journey.
What you can do now
The treatments tested (office-based ablation, topical fluorouracil, or imiquimod) are all available now. Major guidelines now recommend that adults living with HIV aged 35 and older get screened for anal pre-cancer with anal cytology and high-resolution anoscopy. Ask an HIV specialist or colorectal surgeon about screening.
Eligibility for the treatments mentioned above depends on specific test results and clinical history. Bring this summary, the trial name, and your most recent labs or pathology report to your next visit.
Open anal cancer trials
Determining the Frequency of Occurrence and Defining the Most Appropriate Screening Test for Anal Intraepithelial Neoplasia (AIN) in Patients With Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Related Gynecological Diseases.
The primary aim of the study is to determine the total risk of AIN in group of HPV-RGD survivors and additionally to establish an exact risk for each of HPV-related gynecological precancers/cancers. Moreover, the most appropriate screening test for HSIL(AIN) in this group of patients will be determined. It will be effectuated by performing two kinds of tests: hrHPV test for the 14 most common oncogenic HPV types and the liquid cytology from both the lower genital tract and anal canal with subsequent high resolution anoscopy (HRA) with potential biopsy/excision of suspected lesions and histopathological examination.
Re-optimization Based Online Adaptive Radiotherapy of Anal Cancer
A single-arm, prospective, Phase II, single-center clinical trial that will investigate if daily online adaptive radiotherapy for anal cancer will significantly reduce early treatment-related GI toxicity compared with the historically reported rate for non-adaptive intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).