Basal cell carcinoma of penis

Basal cell carcinoma, common in the head and neck region, rarely occurs on the penis. We report here a case of primary basal cell carcinoma of the penis in a fifty-five-year-old man, apparently representing the eleventh reported case. Review of the literature indicates that most penile basal cell carcinomas were located on the shaft and that the age, race, and other clinicopathologic features were comparable to basal cell carcinomas of other sites. The rarity of penile basal cell carcinomas is probably due in part to the low exposure of this region to sunlight and other predisposing factors. Interestingly, of the 9 reported cases of penile basal cell carcinoma, with available information, 6 were associated with local conditions which could have played a predisposing role.