Diagnosis

Diagnosing anal cancer Your GP will usually ask about your symptoms and carry out some examinations. They may feel your tummy and carry out a rectal examination. This involves your doctor inserting a gloved finger into your bottom so they can feel any abnormalities. Your GP will refer you to hospital if they think further tests are necessary. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends in its 2015 guidelines that GPs should consider referring someone with an unexplained anal lumporanal ulcer. The person should receive an appointment within two weeks. If you're referred to hospital, a number of different tests may be carried out to check for anal cancer and rule out other conditions. Some of the tests you may have include a: sigmoidoscopy where a thin, flexible tube with a small camera and light is inserted into your bottom to check for any abnormalities proctoscopy where the inside of your rectum is examined using a hollow tube-like instrument (proctoscope) with a light on the end biopsy where a small tissue sample is removed from your anus during a sigmoidoscopy or proctoscopy so it can be examined in a laboratory under a microscope If these tests suggest you have anal cancer, you may have some scans to check whether the cancer has spread. Once these are complete, your doctors will be able to "stage" the cancer. This means giving it a score to describe how large it is and how far it has spread. You can read more about the stages of anal cancer on the Cancer Research UK website. Digital rectal exams can detect some cases of anal carcinoma. These are usually part of a prostate exam for men. Manual rectal exams, where the doctor inserts a finger into the anus to feel for lumps or growths, are common in pelvic exams for both genders. Anal Pap smears can also be used to test for anal cancer. This procedure is similar to a traditional Pap smear; a doctor will use a large cotton swab to collect cells from the anal lining. These cells are then studied for abnormalities. A doctor may also biopsy a set of cells or tissues to test for anal cancer if an abnormality is detected.

Medically Reviewed by a doctor on
Medical Author: Dr. med. Diana Hysi