[Cancer of the penis. Our experience in 15 years]

To review and analysis the diagnosis, treatment, evolution, and risk factors of the penis cancer.

We carried out a retrospective study between 1992 and 2007. We included 47 patients with penis cancer diagnose of treated in our service. We analyzed risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. The staging was done according to the TNM classification, taking into account the physical exam, radiology and the surgical findings. The average time of follow-up was 50 months {range 12 to 120 months). For univariate statistical analysis the Chi-square test was used, and for the survival the method of Kaplan Meir.

Mean age was 60 years (28-91 years), being 95% older than 50. At the diagnosis 16 patients (34%) had lymphatic nodes, being the most frequent location was unilateral inguinal nodes (62%). Of the 27 cases (57%) who underwent blood calcium check at the time of diagnosis, we found hypercalcaemia in 8 patients (30%). The surgical treatment was the gold standard treatment. The technique more frequently employed was the partial penectomy 25 (53%). 4 patients received radiotherapy as initial treatment. Lymphadenectomy was performed in 14 patients, mostly bilateral inguinal lymphadenectomy (8 patients). The pathology finding at 100% of the cases was squamous cell carcinoma (80% well differentiated). Regarding to the TNM, most of the patients had a clinical stage located: T1N0M0 23%, T2N0M0 27%. The most significant adverse prognostic factors were the presence of lymph nodes, clinical stage at the diagnosis and the degree of cell differentiation (p = 0001). At the last review 36 (76%) cases were free of disease. There were 11 (24%) cases that presented recurrence and were treated: 3 patients with radiotherapy, surgery was used in 7 patients and 1 patient with chemotherapy. Eleven patients died during follow up, 9 of these from disease progression.

The carcinoma of the penis remains a rare malignancy in our centre. Hypercalcemia is a common finding when patients have lymph nodes. The most significant adverse prognostic factors were the presence of lymph nodes, clinical stage at the diagnosis and the degree of cell differentiation. The most effective treatment for cancer of the penis is surgery reserving chemotherapy and radiation therapy for the recurrence.