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Anal Cancer

What Is Anal Cancer? | Risk Factors | Stages and Treatment Options | About Clinical Trials | Greenebaum Cancer Center

What Is Anal Cancer?

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The anus is the opening at the end of the rectum (the end part of the large intestine) through which body waste passes. It is about one and a half inches long and includes several types of tissue, each containing several types of cells.

Anal cancer, an uncommon cancer, is a disease in which cancer cells develop in the anus. Cancer may develop inside the body in the tissues of the anal canal or in the anal sphincter or the outside area of the anus.

Cancer in the outer part of the anus is more likely to occur in men, while cancer that forms inside the anal canal is more likely to occur in women. Tumors found in the area of skin with hair on it just outside the anus are skin tumors, not anal cancer.

This page was last updated on: September 23, 2009.

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