Objective: To examine interobserver variations in assessing grade and stage of penile squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).
Patients and methods: We retrospectively reviewed the pathological features and clinical outcome in 75 patients with SCC of the penis, who were treated in participating urological centres between 1996 and 2005; the assessments of the local pathologists and the review pathologists were compared.
Results: There was conformity in tumour grade in 67% and the assessment of tumour stage conformed in 84%; the combination assessment of both grade and stage conformed in 56%.
Conclusion: Accurate histological subtyping by the surgical pathologist demands standardized guidelines, in particular for histological grading, which is crucial for clinical treatment, but shows significant interobserver variation.