Martin R. Weiser, MD

In a good percentage of patients who have oligometastatic disease confined to a single organ-usually the liver-complete metastasectomy can result in cure. However, once the decision to pursue surgery is made, there remain a number of issues that must be addressed in order to ensure the best possible outcome.

In the current issue of ONCOLOGYDrs. Bendell and Ryan have provideda valuable review of analcancer. They describe the dramaticeffect of multimodality therapy onthe quality of life and survival ofanal cancer patients. Currently, themajority of patients enjoy long-termsurvival without requiring major surgeryor a stoma. At Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, we basetreatment recommendations on stageat presentation and the presence ofcomorbid disease.