Penile cancer is a rare malignancy with scant data on the impact of systemic therapy on outcomes.
Retrospective observational study of patients with a histological diagnosis of carcinoma penis treated with systemic therapy at the Tata Memorial Centre (Mumbai, India) between August 2010 and February 2018. Primary objective was overall survival (OS); secondary objectives included assessment of clinical characteristics, treatment approaches, and toxicity profiles.
We included 91 patients with penile carcinoma who received systemic therapy at our center. Intent of therapy was curative in 71 patients (78%), and palliative in 20 (22%). Median age was 57 years (interquartile range [IQR], 50-65.5) for curatively treated patients and 58.5 years (IQR, 44-65.2) for those with advanced disease. Common presenting symptoms were lumps (70%), and pain (57%). Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) with paclitaxel + platinum was administered to 19 patients (20.9%), of which 7 (37%) attained complete or partial response. Six patients (31.5%) underwent R0 surgery post-NACT. All 71 patients underwent primary surgery; 47 (66.2%) undergoing partial penectomy. Of the 20 patients treated with palliative first-line chemotherapy, 4(20%) attained a partial response. Median OS of patients treated in curative and palliative settings was 33.8 months (95% CI, 17.2-not recorded) and 11.4 months (95% CI, 9.53-23.3), respectively.
Patients with penile cancer treated with systemic therapy have poor outcomes. Little over a third of the patients respond to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and those with advanced disease have poor survival despite systemic therapy, emphasizing the need for early detection and optimum management of primary and nodal disease.
Clinical genitourinary cancer. 2024 Feb 07 [Epub ahead of print]
Vanita Noronha, Venkatesh Kapu, Amit Joshi, Nandini Menon, Ajaykumar Singh, Gagan Prakash, Santosh Menon, Nilesh Sable, Vedang Murthy, Mahendra Pal, Amandeep Arora, Sravan Kumar, Shripad Banavali, Kumar Prabhash
Department of Medical Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India; Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumai, Maharashtra, India., Department of Surgical Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India; Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumai, Maharashtra, India., Department of Pathology, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India; Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumai, Maharashtra, India., Department of Radiodiagnosis, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India; Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumai, Maharashtra, India., Department of Radiation Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India; Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumai, Maharashtra, India., Department of Medical Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India; Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumai, Maharashtra, India. Electronic address: .