Glansectomy as Primary Management of Penile Squamous Cell Carcinoma: An International Study Collaboration

Urology. 2017 Nov:109:140-144. doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2017.08.004. Epub 2017 Aug 14.

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the recurrence and survival outcomes of glansectomy in patients with penile squamous cell carcinoma.

Materials and methods: We performed a retrospective review of 410 patients across 5 international tertiary referral centers between 1999 and 2016. All patients had tumors involving the glans penis and underwent glansectomy as primary treatment. The Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were used to calculate survival and recurrence. Median follow-up was 42 months (interquartile range [IQR] 29-56).

Results: The median age was 64 years (IQR 53-72). Median tumor size was 2.2 cm (IQR 1.5-3.0). A total of 240 patients (58.5%) had pT2 disease, whereas only 43 patients (10.5%) had pT3 or pT4 disease. The majority of the cohort had poorly differentiated tumors (43.7%). Most recurrences were local at 7.6% (31 patients). Only 14 patients (3.4%) had regional recurrence and 9 patients (2.2%) had distant recurrence. When stratified by pathologic stage, tumors that were pT2 or higher were (P < .001) and were more likely to be poorly differentiated (P < .001). There were no differences in recurrence location among pathologic stages (P = .15). The 1-, 2-, and 5-year recurrence-free survival were 98%, 94%, and 78%, respectively. There were no differences in overall survival when stratified by stage (P = .67).

Conclusion: Glansectomy is an oncologically safe treatment modality for squamous cell carcinoma of the glans in appropriately selected invasive tumors.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / mortality
  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / surgery*
  • Humans
  • International Cooperation
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / epidemiology
  • Penile Neoplasms / mortality
  • Penile Neoplasms / surgery*
  • Penis / surgery*
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Survival Rate
  • Urologic Surgical Procedures, Male / methods