UCSF pioneered AIDS care. Now, we are pioneering anal cancer prevention research.

High Resolution Anoscopy (HRA)

High resolution anoscopy (HRA) is a procedure that has been around since the late 1980s and was developed to examine the anus.

Dr. Joel Palefsky, Naomi Jay, and Dr. Michael Berry-Lawhorn at UCSF helped pioneer and develop this technique in 1991. They have taught several clinicians around the world the technique of HRA and they have performed HRA on thousands of patients. 

UCSF's team of dedicated clinicians and scientists work at the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center on the Mt. Zion Medical Campus in San Francisco. The Anal Neoplasia Center for Research and Education, led by Dr. Joel Palefsky, is devoted to performing research that seeks to promote awareness of and screening for HSIL and anal cancer, identify the causes of HSIL and anal cancer, and develop new and better therapies for these diseases.