Thank you for your collaboration! We have concluded ANCHOR study visits as of March 31, 2024.
Thanks to you and the work of our entire research team, the ANCHOR Study’s results have led to a change in medical care for people with HIV in the United States!
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is working to release updated guidelines on managing opportunistic infections in people with HIV, which we expect will include recommendations to screen for and treat anal high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (anal HSIL) in people with HIV. Anal HSIL is abnormal tissue on the anal skin caused by the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can progress to anal cancer. Current recommendations may be found in the section on human papillomavirus in the CDC’s Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Adults and Adolescents with HIV: https://clinicalinfo.hiv.gov/en/guidelines/hiv-clinical-guidelines-adult-and-adolescent-opportunistic-infections/human-0?view=full.
The International Anal Neoplasia Society (IANS), a group of medical experts focused on anal HSIL and anal cancer prevention, has also just published guidelines recommending anal cancer screening in groups of people at high risk for anal cancer. You can read the IANS guidelines at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38297406/.
Anal cancer is the fourth most common cancer in people with HIV, so it’s a meaningful change for people and their providers to know that we can help prevent it. This change is because of you, so thank you for your participation in ANCHOR and making this change happen!
Not every clinical trial is a success. Even fewer studies result in changes to healthcare offered that can prevent illnesses like cancer. We are honored to share in this success with you, and to serve our patients with information that improves medical care. We truly appreciate your partnership with the study over the years!