Disease free survival and time to achieve complete response after definitive chemoradiotherapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the anus according to HIV-infection.

Abstract Background The standard treatment for localized squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCCA) is definitive chemoradiotherapy (ChRT). A meta-analysis of published studies conducted by our group showed significantly lower rates of disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) at three years among HIV-positive patients. We aimed to compare detailed treatment outcomes between the group of HIV-positive and negative patients. Methods Retrospective multicenter comparative cohort of consecutive patients with histological diagnosis of localized SCCA who received definitive ChRT. Patients’ characteristics and outcomes were compared according to HIV status. The primary endpoints were time to achieve complete response (CR) and DFS time. Results From Jun/2001 to Sep/2018, 185 patients were included: 43 (30.2%) were HIV-positive and 142 (69.8%) were HIV-negative. The overall CR rates were 67.4% and 91.5% for HIV-positive and negative patients, respectively (p Conclusions Patients with HIV-positive take longer to achieve CR and present worse DFS. These findings have clinical implications because waiting longer to define CR among these patients may prevent unnecessary anorectal amputations.