Clinicopathological Pattern of Penile Cancer in a Tertiary Care Centre in Nepal

Abstract

Introduction: Carcinoma of penis is an uncommon entity. The higher incidence in developing country may be because of poor hygiene, less common practice of circumcision and unsafe sexual practice. Timely diagnosis and intervention gives the patient a chance of cure. Data on penile cancer is sparse from Nepal so treatment of penile cancer in our centre is presented here. Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study done at Urology unit of Department of Surgery of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Nepal from November, 2007 to December, 2013. Data was retrieved from case records and those with penile carcinoma were included. Patient demographics, lesion characteristics, mode of treatment with outcome measures were noted and analyzed. Results: Total 17 patients underwent treatment for primary penile lesion. Mean age of the patients was 51.5 years. Penile growth was the most frequent presentation with five patients coming with more than one symptom. The most common site was over glans of penis (n=13) with the mean size of 3.55 cm. Partial penectomy was offered in 16 with one patient undergoing circumcision only. Inguinal lymph node dissection was done in four patients. Squamous cell carcinoma was the histological diagnosis in 15 patients. Conclusions: Penile carcinoma is primarily a disease of old. Growth over glans penis is the most common presentation and partial penectomy is feasible in most of the patients to allow oncological cure while preserving the organ for its native function.  Keywords: inguinal lymph node dissection; partial penectomy; penile cancer.