Recognizing genital lymphoedema after penile cancer

Abstract

Lymphadenectomy for penile cancer treatment increases the risk of genital lymphoedema. There is very little acknowledgment of the risk of genital lymphoedema after penile cancer or its treatment in current literature. Genital lymphoedema is most responsive to treatment in the early stages before irreversible skin changes occur; therefore, early identification would benefit patients. A urology clinic-based study found an assumption among health care professionals that in patients with a broad range of genital cancers, post-operative acute genital oedema would resolve on its own, meaning vigilance for chronic lymphoedema was low. It is unclear whether vigilance for lymphoedema is any higher in specialist centres treating penile cancer. This article describes some of the challenges of recognizing genital lymphoedema in an urooncology caseload and specifically in relation to penile cancer. An example case report of penile cancer-related lymphoedema is described and puts this within the context of two relevant studies, one in a single uro-oncology centre and the other a wider interna-

Positive impact of a new compressive garment in patients with genital lymphedema: OLYMPY STUDY

“…Genital and pelvic lymphedema is a common and challenging condition that causes long lasting physical, emotional and social problems, leading to impaired quality of life for affected patients and families [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. The impact of genital lymphedema is broad, including pain during walking, itching, discomfort during sleep and intercourse, lymphorrea and di culty in urination.…”

“…Primary lymphedema can have a genetic component, usually presents in younger patients and typically involves the lower extremities [4]. Gynecologic (cervical, endometrial, ovarian, vulval/vaginal) cancers are most frequent causes of secondary genital lymphedema in females, while prostate and penile cancers are important causes in males, common causes in both sexes include bladder cancer and lower limb melanoma [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14].…”