Anal cancer risk factors

Risk factors

 * Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection: An examination of squamous cell carcinoma tumor tissues from patients in Denmark and Sweden showed a high proportion of anal cancers to be positive for the types of HPV that are also associated with high risk of cervical cancer (90% of the tumors from women, 100% of the tumors from homosexual men, and 58% of tumors from heterosexual men). In another study done, high-risk types of HPV, notably HPV-16, were detected in 84 percent of anal cancer specimens examined.


 * Sexual activity: Having multiple sex partners or having anal sex, due to the increased risk of exposure to the HPV virus.


 * Smoking: Current smokers are several times more likely to develop anal cancer compared with nonsmokers.


 * Immunosuppression, which is often associated with HIV infection.