Anal Cancer Risk Factors & Prevention

Prevention

Prevention of Anal cancer can be categorized according to behavioural, non-behavioural interventions and screening.

Behavioural interventions

  • Safer sex practices (i.e., condom use): Consistent condom use reduces HPV transmission, lowering anal cancer risk, especially in high-risk individuals.
  • Smoking cessation: Quitting smoking reduces exposure to carcinogens, improving immune health and decreasing cancer risk.
  • Diet modification: A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and fiber lowers cancer risk by boosting immune health and reducing inflammation.

Non-Behavioral Interventions

  • Male circumcision: Reduces HPV infection risk and, consequently, HPV-related cancers like anal cancer.
  • HPV vaccination: Protects against high-risk HPV strains (e.g., HPV-16 and HPV-18), significantly reducing anal cancer risk (Medford, R. J., & Salit, I. E. (2015).

Literature
1. Medford, R. J., & Salit, I. E. (2015). Anal cancer and intraepithelial neoplasia: Epidemiology, screening and prevention of a sexually transmitted disease. CMAJ, 187(2), 111–115. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.140476

In order to facilitate the use of our website, we use cookies.

Please confirm if you accept our tracking cookies. When declining the cookies, you can continue visiting the website without sending data to third party services. Read our complete cookie statement here.