Clinicopathological characteristics of carcinoma penis over 10 years in a tertiary-level oncology center in Nepal: a retrospective study of 380 cases.

PURPOSE

This study was done to find out the clinicopathological characteristics of carcinoma penis in Nepali population and to evaluate various risk factors that predict its inguinal lymph node metastasis.

METHODS

A retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out at the Urology Unit, Department of Surgical Oncology at BP Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital, Bharatpur, Nepal. Case notes of biopsy-proven penile cancer, from January 2012 to December 2021, who underwent some form of surgical intervention were included.

RESULTS

A total of 380 patients were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 55.92 ± 13.81 years. At presentation, 78.5% had clinically node-positive disease. The most common treatment for the primary tumor was partial amputation of the penis (74.2%). Bilateral inguinal lymph node dissections were done in 370 cases. The most common histology was the usual SCC in 94.2% of cases and 69% were well differentiated. T3 was the most common staging in 49.4% cases. Pathologically nodal negative status was found in 58% cases. In univariate analysis, factors like duration of symptoms (≥ 6 months), high-risk histopathology (basaloid/sarcomatoid variant), increased T-stage, poorly differentiated tumor, and the presence of PNI or LVI were significantly associated with lymph node metastasis.

CONCLUSIONS

Penile cancer is a common cancer in developing countries such as Nepal. The majority of the patients present late. Early recognition and prompt treatment are required to improve the overall outcome.