Penile and adrenal cancer

The existing hypothesis of a viral etiology of penile cancer has been further supported. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation might be another etiologic factor. Controversies still exist as to whether immediate or delayed inguinal lymphadenectomy should be performed in all patients or only in those who are at high risk for developing metastases (histologic dedifferentiation, vascular invasion). 5-Fluorouracil, cisplatin, bleomycin, and methotrexate are active cytostatic drugs in penile cancer and may have a role in the multimodality treatment of this condition. The sensitivity of abdominal computed tomography in detecting adrenal tumors is reported to be 20% to 41%, and the specificity, 85% to 99%. Immunohistopathology may facilitate the differential diagnosis between malignant and benign adrenal cortical tumors. In a retrospective analysis of 105 patients with adrenal cortical cancer, the overall 5-year survival was 22%. Seventy-nine percent of the tumors were hormone producing. Mitotane yielded biochemical and objective responses without impact on survival.