Schwannoma of the penis: a report of two cases

Schwannomas are benign nerve sheath tumors, which can occur sporadically or in patients with neurofibromatosis. Schwannomas of the penis are extremely rare. To our knowledge, only 18 cases of penile schwannomas have been reported previously in the English-language literature. Here we report two additional cases of penile schwannomas, including one case of multiple penile schwannomas. The first patient was a 26-year-old man presenting with a 2 x 2 cm, slowly growing, painless tumor on the dorsal penile shaft. The second patient was a 41-year-old man presenting with three painless nodules measuring up to 0.9 cm on the dorsal penile shaft. Neither patient had evidence of neurofibromatosis. Both patients received simple tumor excision, and neither experienced tumor recurrence. Penile schwannomas tend to occur on the dorsal penile shaft, the location of the penile dorsal nerves. Notably, multiple tumors are present in 30% of penile schwannoma cases, whereas most schwannomas at other locations present as a single tumor. Most penile schwannomas present as painless nodules. No reported patients had malignant transformation, but two had tumor recurrence 4 months and 7 years after excision. Despite its rarity, schwannomas should be included in the differential diagnoses of penile tumors. Simple excision with follow up should be the treatment of choice.