Recent Advances in the Management of Penile Cancer: A Contemporary Review of the Literature

Abstract

Penile cancer is a rare condition, which mostly affects men in their sixth decade of life. The most common histology is squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), with about half of the cases linked to human papilloma virus (HPV) infection. The lack of awareness and significant social and psychological stigma associated with penile cancer often leads to delays in presentation, diagnosis and management. Timely multidisciplinary care at experienced centers is therefore critical for improving outcomes. For patients with advanced disease, treatment options are limited and prognosis remains poor. Large international efforts are underway to further define the optimal standards of care. Targeted therapies and immune checkpoint inhibitors could potentially play a role in advanced disease and are under evaluation in clinical trials. In this review, we discuss the current management of penile cancer and future directions.

Living in a rural area as a risk factor for worst outcomes in penile cancer

“…Every urologist must ensure making the treatment as effective and conservative as possible (13). There are multiple interventions to try to fulfill this objective, such as topic chemotherapy with imiquimod and 5-fluorouracil, laser with carbon dioxide or neodymium: yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd: YAG), glans resurfacing excision with circumcision laser, glansectomy with reconstruction, radiotherapy, partial amputation with reconstruction, radical penectomy with perineal urethrostomy, neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy with surgery, among other interventions (14,15). Also, there are different interventions for managing the inguinal region with the potential to limit morbidities, such as the dynamic sentinel node excision and the video endoscopic inguinal lym-ph node dissection (VEIL) (16,17).…”

Angioprevention of Urologic Cancers by Plant-Derived Foods

“…Finally, the least common urologic tumor is penile cancer, which is considered a rare malignancy due to its low incidence. Penile squamous cell carcinoma accounts for over 95% of penile malignancies, with about half of the cases linked to human papilloma virus infection [9,10]. With less than one case per 100,000 men in developed countries, the incidence of penile cancer is significantly higher in developing countries.…”

Tumor Location May Independently Predict Survival in Patients With M0 Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Penis

“…Other risk factors include a history of genital warts, penile tears, numerous sexual partners (>30 in the lifetime), smoking, and smegma (7,8). Due to psychological factors, insidious and nonspecific initial symptoms, and lack of awareness of the condition, approximately 15% to 60% of the patients delay presentation for at least 1 year (8)(9)(10). Furthermore, 66% of the patients initially present localized disease (8).…”