Male genital tract tumors in Punjab, India

A total of 95,797 tissue specimens were submitted to our laboratory for histopathological examination during the 21-year period from January 1964 to December 1984. Out of 21,281 cases diagnosed as tumors, 9,254 were found in the male population, comprising 6,846 malignant neoplasms and 2,408 benign neoplasms. There were 1,175 tumors of the male genital tract of which 1,118 were malignant and 57 were benign. The incidence of male genital tract cancer represented 16.33% of male malignancies. The relative frequency of malignant tumors of various organs in the male genital tract was penis, 42.49%; prostate, 40.34%; testis, 15.92%; scrotum, 0.71%; epididymis, 0.36%; spermatic cord, 0.09%; and urethra, 0.09%. All these tumors were classified into various histopathological types and their relative frequency was determined. Some of the rare tumors diagnosed included leiomyosarcoma of the penis, transitional cell carcinoma of the prostate gland, orchioblastoma of the testis, and carcinoma of the urethra. A separate study by this department on the pattern of cancer distribution revealed that cancer of the uterine cervix is the most common malignancy in females in this geographic region. We postulate that a common carcinogenic agent, either a virus or a biochemical (smegmatic) factor, may be responsible for the high incidence of carcinoma of the penis in males and carcinoma of the cervix in females. Educating people about the importance of penile hygiene, and, in particular, educating mothers to retract the foreskin of male babies and to wash it with soap and water when bathing them, will hopefully reduce the incidence of these cancers in regions of high prevalence.