Time for a strategic research response to anal cancer.

The article discusses the urgency for the development of strategic response to anal cancer. According to the author, the causative agent of anal cancer is very common in much of the population in Australia. The author notes that in men who have sex with men (MSM), a meta-analysis estimated that anal canal high risk human papillomavirus (HPV) could be detected in 37 percent of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative population and 74 percent of the HIV-positive population. The author believes that clinicians who perform systematic screening for anal cancer and its precursors in high-risk individuals should prospectively collect and publish longitudinal outcome data.