Clinical Analysis of Penile Cancers Among Chinese in Taiwan

Abstract

From 1972 to 1984, 34 patients with the histologic diagnosis of penile carcinoma were treated at Kaohsiung Medical College Hospital. Of the 34 patients 1 (3%) had transitional cell carcinoma, the others had epidermoid carcinoma. Their ages ranged from 19 to 73 years with a mean of 54 years; the majority of the patients were in the fifth and sixth decades of life. The most common clinical symptom of the tumor was a mass or ulcer over the penis. Phimosis, Bowen's disease and venereal diseases seemed to bear a close etiologic relationship to the penile carcinoma. The prognosis of penile cancer depends upon the stage of the disease. The 5-year survival rates were: 60% for Stage A, 38% for Stage C, and 0% for Stage D patients. Cumulative survival rate was 39%. Circumcision in the neonatal stage is the most effective method in preventing such a disease.