Purpose: Men with penile squamous cell carcinoma and regional lymph node involvement have a low probability of survival with lymphadenectomy alone. A multimodal approach to treatment is desirable for such patients. We performed a phase II study of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with the objective of determining the response rate, time to progression (TTP), and overall survival (OS) among patients with bulky adenopathy.
Patients and methods: Eligible patients had stage N2 or N3 (stage III or stage IV) penile cancer without distant metastases. Neoadjuvant treatment (four courses every 3-4 weeks) consisted of paclitaxel 175 mg/m(2) administered over 3 hours on day 1; ifosfamide 1,200 mg/m(2) on days 1 to 3; and cisplatin 25 mg/m(2) on days 1 to 3. Clinical and pathologic responses were assessed, and patient groups were compared for TTP and OS.
Results: Thirty men received chemotherapy of whom 15 (50.0%) had an objective response and 22 (73.3%) subsequently underwent surgery. Three patients had no remaining tumor on histopathology. Nine patients (30.0%) remained alive and free of recurrence (median follow-up, 34 months; range, 14-59 months), and two patients died of other causes without recurrence. Improved TTP and OS were significantly associated with a response to chemotherapy (P < .001 and P = .001, respectively), absence of bilateral residual tumor (P = .002 and P = .017, respectively), and absence of extranodal extension (P = .001 and P = .004, respectively) or skin involvement (P = .009 and P = .012, respectively).
Conclusion: The neoadjuvant regimen of paclitaxel, ifosfamide, and cisplatin induced clinically meaningful responses in patients with bulky regional lymph node metastases from penile cancer.