[Diagnosis and therapy for penile cancer: a report of 46 cases with literature review].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Penile cancer is an uncommon malignancy, which is mainly treated by surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. This study was to investigate reasonable curative methods for penile cancer.

METHODS: Medical records of 46 patients with penile cancer in the Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University between Jan. 1996 to Jan. 2005 were analyzed retrospectively. Forty-four patients had squamous cell carcinoma, one had Paget disease, and one had verrucous carcinoma.

RESULTS: Thirty-nine patients received partial penectomy, four received total penectomy and perineal urethrostomy, one Paget disease patient received lesion resection and skin grafting, two patients did not receive surgery. Nine out of 10 patients with positive lymph node received ilioinguinal lymphadenectomy, and five received pelvic lymphadenectomy. Forty-one cases were regularly followed up for one to 10 years. The 1-, 2-, 5- and 10- year survival rates were 95.1%, 95.1%, 82.9% and 31.7%, respectively. Prognosis of patients with pelvic lymph node metastasis was poor. Two patients who had pelvic lymph node metastasis died of lung metastasis within two years after surgery.

CONCLUSIONS: Partial penectomy is an appropriate and effective management for penile cancer. Lymph node metastasis is an important prognostic factor for penile cancer. Patients with ilioinguinal lymph node metastasis should receive lymphadenectomy as early as possible to improve the therapeutic effect. The prognosis is poor for patients with pelvic lymph node metastases.