Long-Term Patient-Reported Quality of Life of Anal Cancer Survivors Treated with Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy and Concurrent Chemotherapy: Results from a Prospective Phase II trial.

When compared with historical data, IMRT is associated with reduced long-term impacts on QOL. The majority of patients treated with IMRT experienced clinically significant recovery of function and improvement in QOL over 5 years after completion of treatment. The study noticed that specific toxicities such as chronic diarrhea, fecal incontinence urinary and sexual dysfunction were primarily responsible for deterioration of the long-term QOL. Future research aimed at reducing such toxicities is needed to further improve long-term QOL in anal cancer.