What is Penile Cancer?

Penile cancer is a rare type of cancer that develops due to uncontrolled proliferation of the cells in the penis. It mostly develops from the head or body of the penis. Penile cancer, usually seen in men who are not circumcised, is manifested by symptoms such as penis color and penile skin thickening.

What are The Causes of Penis Cancer?

Causes of penis cancer include genital warts, diabetes, diseases that lower the body’s immune resistance, smoking, AIDS and lack of circumcision.

What are the Symptoms of The Penis Cancer?

The first symptom of penis cancer is usually redness, thickening, discoloration, shedding, wound or wart-like formations seen in the skin of the penis. These changes are mostly seen in the head of the penis, in the circumcision of the foreskin and in the penis body.

Swelling in the penis may also occur due to swelling, mass or lump formation in the penis, and the growth of the lymph glands in the groin region.

How is the Penis Cancer diagnosed?

Biopsy should be performed when penis cancer is suspected. Because the definitive diagnosis of penile cancer is made by biopsy. In the biopsy procedure, a small piece is taken from the suspect area or aria. This piece of tissue is sent to the pathology laboratory for examination. Sometimes the diagnosis of penile cancer can be made by needle biopsy from the enlarged lymph nodes in the inguinal region.

What is the Treatment of Penis Cancer?

Treatment of penis cancer depends on the extent of the disease, the stage and the type of cancer.

In some patients, removal of some intact penile tissue with cancerous tissue in the penis may be sufficient for treatment. In some patients, the entire penis must be removed.

The removed tumor tissue is sent to the pathology laboratory for the assay. Depending on the type of cancer and the stage of the disease, radiation therapy (radiotherapy) or drug therapy (chemotherapy) may be required.

In the period after penile cancer treatment, patients should be followed in order to prevent the cancer cells that may have remained in the body again after a period of time. For this reason, patients are called for controls at regular intervals. During these examinations, a general body examination is performed and if necessary, some blood tests and imaging tests can be performed.