Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026
Murine Mesenteric Lymphadenectomy for Selective Disruption of Lymphatic Communication with Region-Specific Gut
Published on: December 30, 2025
Patients with penile carcinoma benefit from immediate resection of clinically occult lymph node metastases
B K Kroon1, S Horenblas, A P Lont
1Department of Urology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute/Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Purpose:
In this retrospective study we compared the clinical outcome of early vs delayed excision of lymph node metastases in patients with penile squamous cell carcinoma.
Materials And Methods:
A total of 40 patients with a T2-3 penile carcinoma with lymph node metastases were included in this study. All patients initially presented with bilateral impalpable lymph nodes. In 20 patients (50%) metastases were removed when they became clinically apparent during meticulous followup (median interval 6 months, range 1 to 24). There were 20 patients (50%) who underwent resection of inguinal metastases detected on dynamic sentinel node biopsy before they became palpable. The histopathological characteristics of the tumors and lymph nodes were reevaluated.
Results:
The 2 populations were similar in terms of patient age, T-stage, pathological tumor grade, vascular invasion and infiltration depth. Disease specific 3-year survival of patients with positive lymph nodes detected during surveillance was 35% and in those who underwent early resection, 84% (log rank p = 0.0017). In multivariate analysis early resection of occult inguinal metastases detected on dynamic sentinel node biopsy was an independent prognostic factor for disease specific survival (p = 0.006).
Conclusions:
Early resection of lymph node metastases in patients with penile carcinoma improves survival.
