Penile Cancer: Differences Between Patients Over and Under the Age of 75 Years

We aimed to evaluate differences in patient characteristics, treatment, and cancer-specific survival between penile cancer patients aged 75 years or older and those younger than 75 years.

One hundred ninety-six patients with penile cancer who were treated in 12 hospitals in the Kyushu-Okinawa region from 2009 to 2020 were retrospectively analyzed.

The older (age ≥ 75 years) and younger (age < 75 years) groups comprised 80 and 116 patients, respectively. Among all patients with clinical stage 3 disease and those with stage 3A alone, cancer-specific survival was significantly worse in the older group. Patients in the older group exhibited worse Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status scores, lower albumin concentrations, and higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios. Treatment intensity was lower in the older patients, but the findings were not significant: partial penile resection was predominant in the older group, while patients in the younger group more frequently underwent total penile resection. In addition, pelvic lymph node dissection was less frequently performed in the older group.

Among patients with clinical stage 3 penile cancer, cancer-specific survival was worse in those aged 75 years or older. Worse Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status scores and less aggressive treatment in the older group may have been contributing factors.