High resolution anoscopy in the planned staged treatment of anal squamous intraepithelial lesions in HIV-negative patients

Treatment efficacy for human papillomavirus-related anal squamous cell dysplasia in an under-represented population: human immunodeficiency-negative, non-men having sex with men, and non-transplant population

AIM

Human papillomavirus (HPV)-related anal squamous cell dysplasia has been well-reported in high-risk (HR) patients [human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive, men having sex with men (MSM) or immune-suppressed transplant recipients]. However, data are extremely limited for all other patients. This study reports treatment outcomes for HPV-related dysplasia in a population of non-HR patients.

METHOD

A retrospective study was performed to review treatment efficacy in non-HR patients diagnosed with anal dysplasia or superficially invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SISCCA) with at least 12-months' follow-up; HR patients were excluded. Medical records were reviewed for demographics, pathology, cytopathology, treatment and recurrences.

RESULTS

Forty-one patients were identified (34 women). The median age at diagnosis was 58 years (range 26-85) and median follow-up was 26 months (range 12-51). At diagnosis, 36 patients had anal dysplasia and five patients had SISCCA. Treatment outcomes (resolved versus recurrent) differed between treatment modalities (P = 0.014). Topical and fulguration-only treatment modalities were superior to wide local excision (WLE) (P < 0.006 and P < 0.008, respectively). Fourteen (39%) patients had recurrent dysplasia at a median of 14 months (range 4-62); eight patients developed a second recurrence at a median of 14 months (range 11-26). No SISCCA patient had a recurrence, but two patients progressed to anal cancer after treatment.

CONCLUSION

The behaviour of anal dysplasia reported in this under-represented, small group of non-HR patients reveals that treatment for anal dysplasia is not necessarily a single event and nonexcisional treatments may be favourable to WLE. Though the true denominator of this population is unknown, treatment may not prevent the recurrence of dysplasia or progression to cancer, warranting close follow-up.

History of High-Resolution Anoscopy

High-resolution anoscopy (HRA) is a form of low-resolution anal microscopy currently utilized in the screening and management of anal squamous dysplasia. No randomized controlled trials, national or international guidelines exist on the use of HRA for this purpose. Much of our understanding of this entity has been adapted from the literature on cervical squamous dysplasia, including the technique of HRA itself. Epidemiologic evidence has shown that the prevalence and incidence of anal dysplasia is highest in HIV-positive populations. The history of this technique parallels the evolution of our understanding of anal dysplasia. To understand the history of the use of HRA and its place in the screening and management of anal squamous dysplasia, we discuss key advances in the understanding of human papillomavirus-related squamous dysplasia. We begin with early reports in the field establishing the link between this virus and squamous dysplasia, through the marked increase in anal cancer seen with the onset of the HIV epidemic, the identification of relevant populations at risk, the performance of the test itself, to its use today.

Screening, Surveillance, and Treatment of Anal Intraepithelial Neoplasia

The prevalence of anal intraepithelial neoplasia has been increasing, especially in high-risk patients, including men who have sex with men, human immunodeficiency virus positive patients, and those who are immunosuppressed. Several studies with long-term follow-up have suggested that rate of progression from high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions to invasive anal cancer is ∼ 5%. This number is considerably higher for those at high risk. Anal cytology has been used to attempt to screen high-risk patients for disease; however, it has been shown to have very little correlation to actual histology. Patients with lesions should undergo history and physical exam including digital rectal exam and standard anoscopy. High-resolution anoscopy can be considered as well, although it is of questionable time and cost-effectiveness. Nonoperative treatments include expectant surveillance and topical imiquimod or 5-fluorouracil. Operative therapies include wide local excision and targeted ablation with electrocautery, infrared coagulation, or cryotherapy. Recurrence rates remain high regardless of treatment delivered and surveillance is paramount, although optimal surveillance regimens have yet to be established.

The performance of anal cytology as a screening test for anal HSILs in homosexual men

BACKGROUND

Studies regarding the performance of anal cytology in which both the screening test (cytology) and the diagnostic test (high-resolution anoscopy [HRA]) are performed in all members of a screening population are rare. The authors evaluated the performance of liquid-based anal cytology in a cohort of homosexual men in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

METHODS

The Study of the Prevention of Anal Cancer (SPANC) is a 3-year prospective study of the natural history of anal human papillomavirus infection in homosexual men aged ≥35 years. At baseline, all participants underwent a liquid-based anal cytology test and HRA at the same clinical visit. Biopsies were obtained for histological assessment if lesions suspicious for human papillomavirus infection were visible during HRA. Using any cytological abnormality as the threshold, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated against histologically diagnosed high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs).

RESULTS

Among 617 men recruited, the median age was 49 years (range, 35-79 years) and 35.7% were positive for the human immunodeficiency virus. Overall, the sensitivity of cytology was 83.2%, the specificity was 52.6%, the positive predictive value was 45.8%, and the negative predictive value was 86.7%. Specificity improved with increasing age (P for trend =.041). Sensitivity was significantly higher in men with >1 anal octant of biopsy-confirmed HSIL (92.9% vs 77.7%; P = .010), and in those who had ≥10 metaplastic cells present on their cytology slides (87.5% vs 70.2%; P = .007).

CONCLUSIONS

Anal cytology was found to have a higher specificity in older men while maintaining sensitivity. Sensitivity was higher among those with more extensive HSILs and men with metaplastic cells present on cytology. Cancer Cytopathol 2016;124:415-24. © 2016 American Cancer Society.

Immune status does not predict high-risk HPV in anal condyloma

BACKGROUND

More than 90% of anal condyloma is attributed to nonhigh risk strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), thus patients with anal condyloma do not necessarily undergo HPV serotyping unless they are immunocompromised (IC). We hypothesized that IC patients with anal condyloma have a higher risk of high-risk HPV and dysplasia than nonimmunocompromised (NIC) patients.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective chart review of patients who underwent surgical treatment by a single surgeon for anal condyloma from 1/2000 to 1/2012. HPV serotyping was performed on all patient samples. We compared incidence of high-risk HPV and dysplasia in condyloma specimens from IC and NIC patients.

RESULTS

High-risk HPV was identified in 14 specimens with serotypes 16, 18, 31, 33, 51, 52, and 67. Twenty-two cases (18.3%) had dysplasia. Invasive carcinoma was identified in one IC patient. The prevalence of dysplasia or high-risk HPV was not significantly different between IC and NIC groups. High-risk HPV was a significant independent predictor of dysplasia (odds ratio [OR] = 5.2; 95% CI = 1.24-21.62). Immune status, however, was not a significant predictor of high-risk HPV (OR = 1.11; 95% CI = 0.16-5.12) nor dysplasia (OR = 0.27; 95% CI = 0.037-1.17).

CONCLUSIONS

IC patients did not have a significantly higher prevalence or risk of high-risk HPV or dysplasia in our study. HPV typing of all condylomata, regardless of immune status, should be considered as it may help predict risk of neoplastic transformation or identify NIC patients with an increased risk of developing anal intraepithelial neoplasia.

Human papillomavirus status, anal cytology and histopathological outcome in HIV-positive patients

BACKGROUND

Human papillomavirus (HPV) are responsible for a broad spectrum of mucocutaneous infections and may cause squamous cell carcinoma following long-standing infection . Oncogenic HPV, most commonly HPV 16, are detectable in over 90% of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN). Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is strongly associated with a higher prevalence of chronic HPV infection, a higher incidence of AIN and an increased risk for anal cancer (AC). In September 2013, guidelines concerning prevention, screening and treatment of AIN for patients affected by HIV were issued by the German AIDS society.

OBJECTIVE

In order to validate the suggested screening procedure, we analysed data from 123 male and female patients with HIV infection that regularly present in our outpatient clinic.

METHODS

Anal cytology, HPV typing and high-resolution anoscopy (HRA) were performed.

RESULTS

Our results show that screening by anal cytology only identifies a minority of patients with high grade AIN (AIN 3) histology. Patients with normal cytology (NILM, cytology graded negative for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy; n = 5, 29.4%), atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS; n = 5, 71.4%) and low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL; n = 8, 44.5%) showed highly dysplastic lesions (AIN 2 and 3) in the histological workup more frequently than expected. Additionally, high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) was strongly associated with detection of high-risk oncogenic HPV.

CONCLUSION

Anal cytology as the solitary screening tool for anal cancer fails to detect anal dysplasia in a considerable number of patients. Additionally, HPV typing and possibly further biomarkers might be applied to identify those patients with a higher risk of developing anal carcinoma, in order to monitor them more closely or directly transfer them to HRA.

Anal cancer: current standards in care and recent changes in practice

Answer questions and earn CME/CNE The management of squamous cell carcinomas of the anal canal has evolved from surgery as first-line treatment to curative chemoradiation, with surgery reserved for salvage. Significant progress has been made in understanding how to most effectively deliver chemotherapy and reduce toxicity through advancements in radiation delivery. The purpose of this article is to review the multimodality approach to the diagnosis and management of anal cancer based on a review of the published data and in light of available guidelines.

A wide field-of-view scanning endoscope for whole anal canal imaging

We report a novel wide field-of-view (FOV) scanning endoscope, the AnCam, which is based on contact image sensor (CIS) technology used in commercialized business card scanners. The AnCam can capture the whole image of the anal canal within 10 seconds with a resolution of 89 μm, a maximum FOV of 100 mm × 120 mm, and a depth-of-field (DOF) of 0.65 mm at 5.9 line pairs per mm (lp/mm). We demonstrate the performance of the AnCam by imaging the entire anal canal of pigs and tracking the dynamics of acetowhite testing. We believe the AnCam can potentially be a simple and convenient solution for screening of the anal canal for dysplasia and for surveillance in patients following treatment for anal cancer.

Anal squamous intraepithelial neoplasia

Diagnosis, follow up, and treatment of anal intraepithelial neoplasia are complex and not standardized. This may be partly caused by poor communication of biopsy and cytology findings between pathologists and clinicians as a result of a disparate and confusing terminology used to classify these lesions. This article focuses on general aspects of epidemiology and on clarifying the current terminology of intraepithelial squamous neoplasia, its relationship with human papilloma virus infection, and the current methods that exist to diagnose and treat this condition.

What should we do about anal condyloma and anal intraepithelial neoplasia? Results of a survey

AIM

There is a lack of standardization regarding diagnosis, treatment and surveillance of patients with anal HPV infection.

METHOD

An Internet-based survey was sent to members of international, surgical and dermatological societies. Answers were obtained from 1017 dermatologists and 393 colorectal surgeons (n = 1410).

RESULTS

More dermatologists than surgeons provided noninvasive treatment of anal condyloma with 5% imiquimod (80.4 vs 28.2%; P < 0.001), whereas the situation was reversed for surgical excision (56.8 vs 91.3%; P < 0.001). To detect dysplastic lesions, 42.0% of surgeons used acetic acid only, 23.2% used this in combination with high-resolution anoscopy and 19.5% applied intra-anal cytological smears. Likewise, 64.6% of dermatologists applied acetic acid only, 16.5% combined acetic acid with high-resolution anoscopy and 30.2% performed intra-anal cytological smears (all P < 0.001 compared with surgeons). The therapy for anal intraepithelial lesions was not influenced by the grade of dysplasia, but it was by immune status.

CONCLUSION

There were significant differences in practice between colorectal surgeons and dermatologists. These findings highlight the need for international and cross-disciplinary clinical guidelines.

Management of anal squamous intraepithelial lesions

Anal squamous intraepithelial lesions include both low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) and are caused by chronic infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV). The disease is increasing in both incidence and prevalence, especially among patients with the following risk factors: homosexual men, acquired or iatrogenic immunosuppression, and presence of other HPV-related diseases. Although the natural history of the disease is unknown, there is significant evidence that untreated HSIL progresses to squamous cell carcinoma in 11% of patients and in up to 50% of patients with extensive disease and immunosuppression. Anal cytology and reflex HPV DNA testing are used to screen for disease, particularly among patients with the aforementioned risk factors. Evaluation of the patient should include physical examination and high-resolution anoscopy (HRA) to evaluate for disease above and below the dentate line. Intervention is warranted and this can be achieved in many ways. The treatment option associated with the best outcomes is ablation directed with HRA, which can be performed in the office or in the operating room with minimal morbidity. This strategy is effective in patients with both low-volume and high-volume disease and is associated with a malignant progression rate of 0.4% in patients with treated HSIL.

Management of anal squamous intraepithelial lesions

Anal squamous intraepithelial lesions include both low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) and are caused by chronic infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV). The disease is increasing in both incidence and prevalence, especially among patients with the following risk factors: homosexual men, acquired or iatrogenic immunosuppression, and presence of other HPV-related diseases. Although the natural history of the disease is unknown, there is significant evidence that untreated HSIL progresses to squamous cell carcinoma in 11% of patients and in up to 50% of patients with extensive disease and immunosuppression. Anal cytology and reflex HPV DNA testing are used to screen for disease, particularly among patients with the aforementioned risk factors. Evaluation of the patient should include physical examination and high-resolution anoscopy (HRA) to evaluate for disease above and below the dentate line. Intervention is warranted and this can be achieved in many ways. The treatment option associated with the best outcomes is ablation directed with HRA, which can be performed in the office or in the operating room with minimal morbidity. This strategy is effective in patients with both low-volume and high-volume disease and is associated with a malignant progression rate of 0.4% in patients with treated HSIL.

Current understanding and potential immunotherapy for HIV-associated squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SCCA)

Squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SCCA) is a rare disease in the average population but is an increasing concern among immunocompromised individuals, such as the HIV-seropositive. Coinfection with human papillomavirus (HPV) in this population is common. HPV infection is difficult to clear with a compromised immune system, which results in a greater risk of tumor development and a more aggressive progression of the disease. The recent approval of a prophylactic HPV vaccine for cervical cancer has sparked an interest in a search for improved immunotherapeutic multimodality therapies to combat anogenital tumors associated with the virus. In this review, we discuss the known mechanisms of action of HIV-associated SCCA, examine the current treatments for the disease, and focus on the potential of an immunotherapeutic vaccine approach for both prophylactic and therapeutic application.

Diagnosis and management of anal cancer

During the past three decades, anal cancer has served as a paradigm for the successful application of chemoradiation to solid tumors. Since the early 1990s, the increasing incidence of anal cancer in homosexual men has highlighted the causative role of oncogenic human papilloma-virus infection. This review focuses on significant trends and developments in the management of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal, emphasizing three major aspects of diagnosis and treatment: routine screening and eradication of premalignant lesions in high-risk individuals; outcome of chemoradiation therapy in HIV-positive individuals in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy; and potential improvements in chemoradiation protocols through improved radiation delivery technique and the combination of mitomycin with cisplatin in current prospective randomized trials.

Anal intraepithelial neoplasia in HIV infection

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections belong to the most common sexually transmitted infections worldwide. While the immune system eliminates most HPV infections over time in immunocompetent individuals, HPV infections tend to persist in immunodeficient individuals. In HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM), anal HPV prevalence is more than 90% and infections with multiple HPV types are common. Consequently, HPV-associated anogenital malignancies occur with high frequency in patients with HIV infection. Anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) is a potential precursor lesion of squamous cell carcinoma of the anus. Like its cervical counterpart, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), AIN is causally linked to persistent infections with high-risk HPV types such as HPV16 or HPV18. As AIN and CIN share distinct biological similar-ities, AIN screenings analogous to Pap smear programs for CIN have been recommended in high-risk populations to reduce the incidence of anal carcinoma. These screenings include cytological analysis followed by high resolution anoscopy in case of anal dysplasia. Treatment guidelines for AIN are not yet available. Therapeutic strategies can be divided into topical (e.g. trichloroacetic acid, podophyllotoxin, imiquimod, photodynamic therapy) and ablative (e. g. surgical excision, laser ablation, infrared coagulation, electrocautery) measures. However, controlled studies on AIN treatment have not been performed. The impact of HPV vaccination on AIN development will also need to be assessed. Long-term follow-up of these patients is essential to gain more insight into the natural history of anogenital HPV infection in HIV-positive MSM.

Imiquimod leads to a decrease of human papillomavirus DNA and to a sustained clearance of anal intraepithelial neoplasia in HIV-infected men

Anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN), a human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated precursor lesion of anal carcinoma, is highly prevalent in HIV-infected men having sex with men (MSM). This prospective follow-up study evaluated the long-term results of imiquimod treatment of AIN in 19 HIV-infected MSM. Standardized follow-up examinations included high-resolution anoscopy, anal cytology/histology, HPV typing, and DNA load determination for HPV types 16, 18, 31, and 33. Mean follow-up time was 30.3 months. A total of 74% (14/19) of the patients remained free of AIN at the previously treated site. Five patients (26%) had recurrent high-grade AIN after a mean time of 24.6 months. At the end of follow-up, the numbers of HPV types as well as high-risk HPV-DNA loads were significantly lower than before therapy. During follow-up, 58% of all patients (11/19) developed new anal cytological abnormalities in previously normal, untreated anal regions. 55% of these new AIN lesions were high-grade lesions and most of them were located intra-anally and associated with high-risk HPV types not detectable before therapy. These results demonstrate that imiquimod leads to a high rate of long-term clearance of AIN in HIV-positive men together with a prolonged decrease of high-risk HPV-DNA load. However, new AIN lesions associated with previously undetected HPV types frequently occur in untreated areas.