BERKELEY, CA (UroToday.com) - This recent review article summarizes the significant advances made in the diagnosis and management of penile cancer. This often-aggressive tumor phenotype has been characterized by its poor prognosis -- mostly attributable to its late clinical presentation and inconsistent (often non-evidence based) surgical care due to the paucity of cases treated at individual centers. Recent advances in our understanding of the risk factors predisposing to penile cancer, including its association with the human papilloma virus (HPV), have brought forth optimism in the adoption of HPV vaccination programs in certain high-risk populations and in countries where at this time the vaccination remains highly debated.
The management of penile cancer has evolved in recent years with the use of penile-sparing and minimally invasive surgical approaches to the inguinal lymph nodes, which are a frequent site and the first echelon of regional metastatic spread for this malignancy.
Lastly, we highlight the importance of adopting a multimodal approach consisting of neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy followed by consolidative surgical resection in patients presenting with bulky/locally advanced nodal metastases secondary to penile cancer.
Written by:
Philippe E. Spiess, MD, MSc, FACS, FRCS(C) as part of Beyond the Abstract on UroToday.com. This initiative offers a method of publishing for the professional urology community. Authors are given an opportunity to expand on the circumstances, limitations etc... of their research by referencing the published abstract.
Department of Genitourinary Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL USA 33612
New treatment guidelines for penile cancer - Abstract
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