This letter to the Editor aims to provide suggestions and recommendations for the management of urological conditions in times of COVID-19 crisis in Brazil and other low-and middle-income countries.
Purpose
Penile cancer is highly prevalent in low- and middle-income countries, with significant morbidity and mortality rates. The first Brazilian consensus provides support to improve penile cancer patients’ outcomes, based on expert’s opinion and evidence from medical literature.
Methods
Fifty-one Brazilian experts (clinical oncologists, radiation oncologists, urologists, and pathologists) assembled and voted 104 multiple-choice questions, confronted the results with the literature, and ranked the levels of evidence.
Results
Healthcare professionals need to deliver more effective communication about the risk factors for penile cancer. Staging and follow-up of patients include physical examination, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging. Close monitoring is crucial, because most recurrences occur in the first 2–5 years. Lymph-node involvement is the most important predictive factor for survival, and management depends on the location (inguinal or pelvic) and the number of lymph nodes involved. Conservative treatment may be helpful in selected patients without compromising oncological outcomes; however, surgery yields the lowest rate of local recurrence.
Conclusion
This consensus provides an essential decision-making orientation regarding this challenging disease.
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