BACKGROUND: We reviewed the outcomes for patients with penile cancer to determine factors predictive of their survival. METHODS: Between 1966 and 1996, 59 patients with penile cancer were treated at Kobe University Hospital. The median follow-up period was 109 months (range, 4 to 240 months). The prognostic factors were determined by multivariate analysis. Disease progression rates, according to stage and the type of surgery, were studied. RESULTS: The 5- and 10-year, cause-specific survival rates were 75.9% and 73.8%, respectively. Lymph node involvement, tumor stage, and tumor differentiation were the independent risk factors identified by multivariate analysis. Among the patients at stage 1 and 2, none of the 29 patients treated with early lymphadenectomy showed recurrence in the inguinal region, while 4 (27%) of 15 patients without lymphadenectomy showed such recurrence. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that tumor stage, lymph node involvement, and tumor differentiation are significant prognostic factors for survival, and that early inguinal lymphadenectomy would improve the prognosis of patients with stage 1 or 2 penile cancer.
BACKGROUND: We reviewed the outcomes for patients with penile cancer to determine factors predictive of their survival. METHODS: Between 1966 and 1996, 59 patients with penile cancer were treated at Kobe University Hospital. The median follow-up period was 109 months (range, 4 to 240 months). The prognostic factors were determined by multivariate analysis. Disease progression rates, according to stage and the type of surgery, were studied. RESULTS: The 5- and 10-year, cause-specific survival rates were 75.9% and 73.8%, respectively. Lymph node involvement, tumor stage, and tumor differentiation were the independent risk factors identified by multivariate analysis. Among the patients at stage 1 and 2, none of the 29 patients treated with early lymphadenectomy showed recurrence in the inguinal region, while 4 (27%) of 15 patients without lymphadenectomy showed such recurrence. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that tumor stage, lymph node involvement, and tumor differentiation are significant prognostic factors for survival, and that early inguinal lymphadenectomy would improve the prognosis of patients with stage 1 or 2 penile cancer.