Carcinoma of skin of penis

Like the Jews, the Ibos or Igbos of Nigeria ritually circumcise males on the eighth day of birth. A retrospective review of approximately 15,000 surgical specimens collected from this ethnic group over a period of 13 years revealed 32 cases of carcinoma of the prostate but only 4 cases of penile carcinoma. One tumour arose on the glans penis. This localisation pattern suggests that, in circumcised males, smegma-induced squamous carcinoma of the glans can be abolished but not the ordinary squamous carcinoma that can develop by chance on the rest of the penis as well as on the glans. International urology would benefit from careful documentation of squamous carcinoma affecting various parts of the neonatally circumcised penile skin.