Premium
Cancer of the Penis
Author(s) -
MERRIN CLAUDE E.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/cncr.1980.45.s7.1973
Subject(s) - medicine , penis , radiation therapy , cancer , surgery , lymphatic system , penile cancer , lymphadenectomy , bleomycin , stage (stratigraphy) , disease , chemotherapy , pathology , paleontology , biology
Cancer of the penis is infrequent in the United States because of good genital hygiene and circumcision of male babies at birth. In other countries, it represents 11–12% of all cancer in males. Tumors of the penis consist mainly of squamous cell carcinoma. Mesenchymal tumors are rare. The treatment is based on the surgical excision of the penis (partial or total) with or without regional lymphadenectomy. Radiotherapy alone or in conjunction with surgery is also used. Chemotherapy with bleomycin and/or methotrexate has been effective in advanced disease. The prognosis is directly related to the stage of the tumor at the time of the treatment. Patients without lymphatic metastases remain alive and free of disease at ten years of follow‐up. Meanwhile, patients with microscopic lymphatic spread, survive an average of 2.5 years (Roswell Park Memorial Institute). These data emphasize the importance of early diagnosis and treatment to achieve long survival.