Regional differences in penile cancer patient characteristics and treatment rates across the United States.

We tested for regional-specific differences in patient, tumor and treatment characteristics as well as cancer-specific mortality (CSM) of squamous cell carcinoma of the penis (SCCP) patients, across the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registries.

The SEER database (2000-2018) was used to tabulate patient (age at diagnosis, race/ethnicity), tumor (stage, grade, N-stage) and treatment characteristics (proportions of primary tumor surgery, local lymph node surgery, systemic therapy), according to 12 SEER registries. Multinomial regression models, as well as multivariable Cox regression models tested for CSM differences, adjusting for patient, tumor and treatment characteristics.

In 5395 SCCP patients, registry-specific patient counts ranged from 2060 (38 %) to 64 (1 %). Differences across registries existed for race/ethnicity, stage, grade and N-stage. Additionally, in stage I-II SCCP patients, proportions of local tumor destruction (LTD) ranged from 19 % to 39 % and from 33 % to 61 % for partial penectomy. In stage III-IV SCCP patients, proportions of partial penectomy ranged from 40 % to 59 % and from 17 % to 50 % for radical penectomy. Local lymph node surgery ranged from 8 % to 24 % and proportions of systemic therapy ranged from 3 % to 14 %. Significant inter-registry differences remained, after adjustment for treatment proportions. Unadjusted five-year CSM ranged from 19 % to 32 %. In multivariable analyses, one registry exhibited significantly higher CSM (SEER registry 10, Hazard Ratio [HR] 1.48), relative to the largest reference registry (SEER registry 1, n = 2060).

Important regional differences including patient, tumor and treatment characteristics exist for SCCP patients across SEER registries. After multivariable adjustment, no differences in CSM were recorded, with the exception of one registry.

Cancer epidemiology. 2023 Jul 26 [Epub ahead of print]

Lukas Scheipner, Cristina Cano Garcia, Francesco Barletta, Reha-Baris Incesu, Simone Morra, Andrea Baudo, Anis Assad, Zhe Tian, Fred Saad, Shahrokh F Shariat, Felix K H Chun, Alberto Briganti, Derya Tilki, Nicola Longo, Luca Carmignani, Marianne Leitsmann, Sascha Ahyai, Pierre I Karakiewicz

Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montréal Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada; Department of Urology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria. Electronic address: ., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montréal Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada; Department of Urology, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt am Main, Germany., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montréal Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada; Unit of Urology/Division of Oncology, Gianfranco Soldera Prostate Cancer Lab, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montréal Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada; Martini-Klinik Prostate Cancer Center, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montréal Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada; Department of Neurosciences, Science of Reproduction and Odontostomatology, University of Naples Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montréal Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada; Department of Urology, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, Milan, Italy., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montréal Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada., Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Urology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA; Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX, USA; Hourani Center for Applied Scientific Research, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, Jordan., Department of Urology, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt am Main, Germany., Unit of Urology/Division of Oncology, Gianfranco Soldera Prostate Cancer Lab, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy., Martini-Klinik Prostate Cancer Center, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; Department of Urology, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; Department of Urology, Koc University Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey., Department of Neurosciences, Science of Reproduction and Odontostomatology, University of Naples Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy., Department of Urology, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, Milan, Italy; Department of Urology, IRCCS Ospedale Galeazzi - Sant'Ambrogio, Milan, Italy., Department of Urology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.