[Diagnosis of penile carcinoma]

Diagnosing penile cancer requires a consistent search for initial tumor lesion, determination of the condition of the regional lymph nodes, and a search for distant metastases. Compulsory examinations such as: Inspection, Palpation and Biopsy define the presence of a tumor process and its histological clarification. Additional examinations such as: Echography, Computer tomography, and Magnetic Resonance define the stage of the disease and the method of its treatment.

The objective of the present research is to present the diagnostic methods applied in the case of penile cancer at the Clinic of Urology, Medical University-Sofia.

The patients having penile cancer diagnosis who were treated at the Clinic of Urology, Medical University-Sofia for 13 years, from 1990 to 2002 were studied and 80 cases were found. The diagnostic methods used were examined, and the said methods were conditionally divided into two categories: compulsory and additional.

The condition of the palpating inguinal lymph nodes is influenced by the removal of the initial tumor lesion through partial penile amputation and treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics. The enlarged palpating lymph nodes undergo a process of reverse development in 50% of the cases.

Application of diagnostic methods such as: inspection, palpation, biopsy, echography, computer axis tomography, and nuclear magnetic resonance ensure the diagnosis of the initial tumor lesion in the case of penile cancer. The condition of the palpating inguinal lymph nodes is determined through the above-cited diagnostic methods. The presence of Na metastases in the inguinal lymph nodes is proved through surgical biopsy.