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NCI CANCERLIT^® Search: Penile Cancer - September 2001

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Last Modified: November 1, 2001

• High incidence of lichen sclerosus in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the penis.

• Granular cell tumor treated with Mohs micrographic surgery: report of a case and review of the literature.

• Human papillomavirus and p53 protein immunoreactivity in condylomata acuminatum and squamous cell carcinoma of penis.

• Penile metastasis arising from transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder.

• Penile leiomyosarcoma: sonographic and magnetic resonance imaging findings.

CancerMail from the National Cancer Institute

1
UI - 21347108
AU - Powell J; Robson A; Cranston D; Wojnarowska F; Turner R
TI - High incidence of lichen sclerosus in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the penis.
SO - Br J Dermatol 2001 Jul;145(1):85-9
AD - Department of Dermatology, The Churchill, Old Road, Headington, Oxford OX3 7LJ, UK. jjphbp@aol.com
BACKGROUND: There is a well-documented association between lichen sclerosus (LS) and vulval carcinoma in women; however, until recently, there have only been anecdotal reports of penile squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) occurring in men with LS. OBJECTIVE: The incidence of penile carcinoma occurring on a background of LS remains uncertain, and we wished to examine this possible association further. METHOD: To address this, all the cases (n = 20) of penile SCC held on our pathology database (4 years) were examined. Histology was reviewed, blind to the clinical picture, for evidence of LS, applying strict histological criteria. Subsequently, clinical notes were reviewed for history of LS before the SCC presented, and history of previous circumcision, treatments, node involvement, metastases and death. RESULTS: In eight cases, evidence of LS was found in the excision specimen. Seven of these had well-differentiated SCC. In the 12 cases with no evidence of LS, only three were well differentiated. With case note review, seven had a history of LS (four with histological LS), sometimes preceding the SCC by 10 years. These all had well-differentiated SCC. Ten of the 20 patients are dead, seven from metastatic disease. Four deaths occurred in the 'well-differentiated LS' group, but only one from penile SCC metastatic disease. CONCLUSIONS: There appears to be a definite association between SCC of the penis and the presence of LS, similar to that reported between LS and vulval SCC in women. Of the 20 patients with penile SCC studied, 11 had a clinical history and/or histological evidence of LS. However, clinical presentation of the LS or need for circumcision may precede the SCC by many years. As follow-up is impractical, counselling at the time of diagnosis is very important, and it is essential that medical practitioners are aware of this association so that the subsequent risk from SCC is reduced.

2
UI - 21384919
AU - Gardner ES; Goldberg LH
TI - Granular cell tumor treated with Mohs micrographic surgery: report of a case and review of the literature.
SO - Dermatol Surg 2001 Aug;27(8):772-4
AD - DermSurgery Associates, P.A., Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
BACKGROUND: Granular cell tumors are uncommon soft tissue neoplasms of neural origin that most often arise in the oral cavity. Penile lesions are distinctly uncommon. Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) is a highly effective treatment for several cutaneous neoplasms when tissue conservation is crucial. OBJECTIVE: To examine the use of MMS for this soft tissue malignancy. METHODS: We report only the eighth granular cell tumor of the penis. The literature was reviewed regarding the use of MMS for these neoplasms. RESULTS: MMS was performed to minimize the destruction of normal tissue in treating this patient's granular cell tumor. Only one previous article documented the use of MMS for this soft tissue tumor. CONCLUSION: Although utilized infrequently to treat granular cell tumors, MMS may prove beneficial when lesion location or size render tissue conservation or assuredness of cure paramount.

3
UI - 21228146
AU - Zhang XH; Sun GQ; Yang Y; Zhang TH
TI - Human papillomavirus and p53 protein immunoreactivity in condylomata acuminatum and squamous cell carcinoma of penis.
SO - Asian J Androl 2001 Mar;3(1):75-7
AD - Department of Pathology, General Hospital of Nanjing Command, China.
AIM: To determine the immunoreactive pattern of human papillomavirus (HPV) antigen and p53 protein in condylomata acuminatum (CA) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of penis. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry for HPV and p53 were performed in 40 specimens of formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tissues using a polyclonal (rabbit) antibody against HPV and a monoclonal (mouse) antibody against human p53 protein. Twenty one cases of CA and nineteen cases of SCC were examined. RESULTS: HPV antigen was detected in all 21 CA and 2 penile SCC. p53 protein overexpression was observed in 12 of 19 (63%) SCC in which 6 cases were strong positive. Five of 21 CA (24%) showed low-grade p53 protein overexpression. CONCLUSION: CA is related to HPV infection and some cases show p53 protein low-grade overexpression. In contrast, p53 protein overexpression is common in penile SCC, which is seldom related to HPV infection.

4
UI - 21217019
AU - Khan MA; Tao W; Mathews P; Potluri BS
TI - Penile metastasis arising from transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder.
SO - Urol Int 2001;66(3):162-3
AD - Department of Urology, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow, Essex, UK. ktasmas@aol.com
Metastatic spread of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder to the penis is very rare. We present 1 such case in a 63-year-old man that was treated by total penectomy and adjuvant systemic chemotherapy. Copyright 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel

5
UI - 21241368
AU - Dobos N; Nisenbaum HL; Axel L; Van Arsdalen K; Tomaszewski JE
TI - Penile leiomyosarcoma: sonographic and magnetic resonance imaging findings.
SO - J Ultrasound Med 2001 May;20(5):553-7
AD - Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia 19104, USA.