General causes: 

There are approximately around millions of the anal cancer cases around the globe. Generally the number of cases has been increasing in the past 5 decades. It is much more common in the female population; however in the world about there is a possibility that both; males and females have this cancer in an equal proportion. The

United States is reported to have around 3 to 4 thousand cases of anal cancer.Several factors have been associated with anal cancer. Most importantly, infection with the human papilloma virus (HPV) has been shown to be related to anal cancers and has been associated with several other cancers including cervical cancer and cancers of the head and neck. HPV can be transmitted from person to person through sexual contact, so individuals with a history of multiple sexual partners, anal receptive intercourse, and genital warts are at an increased risk for infection. Another sexually transmitted virus, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), has been linked to anal cancers, and individuals infected with HIV are at increased risk for infection with HPV. The relationship between HIV and anal cancer will be discussed in more detail in the next section (entitled HIV/AIDS and anal cancer are related)Several other factors have been linked to anal cancer. Anal cancer has been associated with smoking. Patients who smoke are three times more likely to develop this cancer than in non-smokers. Because anal cancer appears to first start as anal dysplasia before progressing to anal cancer, patients with a history of AIN are at increased risk to develop anal cancer. There may be an association between anal cancer and suppression of the immune system. The rate of anal cancer is higher in patients who are immunosuppressed after srgan transplants, although this relationship is not clear.

In general, cancer begins with a genetic mutation that turns normal, healthy cells into abnormal cells. Healthy cells grow and multiply at a set rate, eventually dying at a set time. Abnormal cells grow and multiply out of control, and they don’t die. The accumulating abnormal cells form a mass (tumor). Cancer cells invade nearby tissues and can separate from an initial tumor to spread elsewhere in the body (metastasize).Doctors don’t know what causes the genetic mutation that triggers the development of anal cancer. However, they have identified several factors that may increase the risk of anal cancer. 

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