Penile Cancer

Cancer affecting the penis is uncommon and found in nearly four hundred men in the UK annually. It is mostly noted in men past fifty years of age.

Penile Cancer Causes

• The precise reasons for penile cancer occurring is ambiguous. It is less prevalent among men that have had circumcision wherein removal of all or parts of the foreskin have been done subsequent to birth. This could be due the reason that uncircumcised men face difficulty in completely pulling back the foreskin hence leading to improper cleansing of the area beneath it that could harbour HPV or human papilloma virus –the key offender leading to penile warts, additionally raising the risk of developing penile cancer.
• Few of the skin conditions affecting the penis could progress leading to the development of cancer when ignored. In case one notices the appearance of whitish or reddish scaly or clammy patches on the skin’s surface of the penis, it is imperative to seek medical advice to get prompt treatment.
• Cancer of the penis is non-communicable and could not be transmitted to others. It is also not due to a heritable flawed gene and other kin members having it would not raise one’s risk of developing this form of cancer.

Penile Cancer Symptoms

• The preliminary signs of penile cancer are mostly an alteration in skin colour or texture (turning thick).
• The symptoms arising later on involve a growth or sores appearing on the penis, particularly on the glans, also known as the foreskin or the top part of the penis, though at times it could also be noted on the base of the penis.
• There could be discharge or blood loss from the penis. Majority of the penile cancers do not cause pain.
• At times, the cancers emerge as flattish growths which are blue-brown in colour or alike reddish rashes or tiny scaly bumps. Mostly, the cancers are discernible only when the foreskin is drawn back.

Such symptoms could be arising along with conditions that are not related to cancer. Much alike other cancerous forms, the cancer of the penis are easy to treat in case there is early diagnosis. Hence, one needs to promptly visit the doctor in case one is in doubt or some of the symptoms start arising.

Diagnosis & Tests

• The general practitioner would carry out an examination, after which one might be referred to a specialist doctor for professional advice and treatment.
• The specialist would conduct a detailed examination of the entire penis and groin area to palpate for any kind of swellings.
• In order to conduct an accurate diagnosis, the doctor would remove a tissue sample from the sores or anomalous surfaces on the penis by a biopsy procedure. This would be conducted under local or general anaesthesia to make it pain-free. The tissues sample removed would be sent for microscopic analysis.
• In case the biopsy procedure affirms the presence of cancer, the patient would be referred to a specialist centre for undergoing additional tests to verify whether the cancer has metastasized.
• Cancer could reach the bloodstream or affect the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system comprising of a mesh of lymph nodes interlinked by delicate ducts, is part of the body’s safeguard mechanism to combat infection and ailments. There could be enlargement of the groin region in case the cancer has metastasized there.
• The outcome of the tests would assist the specialist in deciding the apt form of treatment for the patient.
• CT or computerised tomography scan
  A CT scan is a specialised form of X-ray wherein a sequence of images are captured and passed into a computer for generating in-depth images of the interiors of the body. The scan results would reveal whether the cancer has metastasized to other areas of the body. It is a pain-free procedure that lasts for ten to thirty minutes.
• Lymph node biopsy
  In case there is enlargement in the lymph nodes present in the groin area, the doctor would pass a needle within the node for removing cell sample by the biopsy procedure. This is done for checking for the presence of any form of enlargement because of the cancer. An enlargement in the lymph nodes could be because of an infection and not due to cancer.

Staging and Grading

The staging is done for describing its size and whether metastasis past the initial location has occurred. The doctors are better able to finalise the optimal course of treatment when they have the knowledge of the specific form and staging.

• Stage 1
  Only the foreskin of the penis has been affected by the cancer.
• Stage 2
  The cancer has metastasized to the base of the penis or to one of the lymph nodes present in the groin region.
• Stage 3
  The cancer has deeply metastasized in the shaft of the penis or to several lymph nodes present in the groin region.
• Stage 4
  The cancer has deeply reached to the lymph nodes present in the pelvis or to other areas of the body.

Few doctors could illustrate the staging of the cancer as:

Early disease

Merely the foreskin or the surface of the tip of the penis (glans) has been affected by the cancer.

Intermediate disease

The cancer has metastasized to beneath the top skin layers reaching the shaft of the penis and occasionally small quantities of cancer cells could be detected in one of the lymph nodes present in the groin (infinitesimal disease).

Advanced disease

The cancer has been diagnosed in one or many lymph nodes that have enlargement in the groin region and at times could metastasize to other areas of the body.

In case, the cancer has relapsed subsequent to the original treatment, then it is called as recurrent cancer.

Grading

Grading provides an idea on the rate of development of the cancer and their microscopic appearance. Low-grade would mean that the cancer cells appear analogous to normal cells; they normally have slow growth and are less prone to multiplying. In high-grade tumours, the cells appear anomalous, have a likelihood of quicker spread and are more prone to increasing.

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