Penile cancer is a rare urological malignancy, accounting for less than 1% of all cancers in males. Given its rarity, few studies exist reporting survival outcomes. The primary objective of this project was to review the mortality of patients diagnosed with penile cancer in Western Australia between 1992 and 2017 and to determine if Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and patients in rural and remote regions experience discrepancies in survival outcomes.
All cases of penile cancer recorded within the Western Australia Cancer Registry between 1992 and 2017 were reviewed. Analysis was performed using chi-squared test of association, binomial logistic regression and survival analysis was conducted using Kaplan Meier and Cox Regression analysis.
One hundred eighty-six cases of penile cancer were identified; 62 patients (33%) were from regional or remote locations and nine patients (4.8%) were Aboriginal. 13 of the regional or remote patients and 5 of the Aboriginal patients died from penile cancer. Patients who were Aboriginal (HR 6.512, CI 2.123-19.968; P = 0.001) or from regional or remote Western Australia (HR 2.382, CI 1.050-5.401; P = 0.038) were at an increased risk of penile cancer-specific mortality.
Aboriginal people with penile cancer and men from regional and remote Western Australia experience worse penile cancer-specific survival outcomes.
ANZ journal of surgery. 2022 Dec 08 [Epub ahead of print]
Simeon Ngweso, Tatenda Nzenza, Kevin McMillan, David Sofield, Mikhail Lozinskiy, Dickon Hayne
Department of Urology, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia., Department of Urology, Austin Hospital, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia., Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia., Department of Urology, Bethesda Hospital, Claremont, Western Australia, Australia., Royal Perth Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, Australia., Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia.