Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment of Penile Cancer

Penile cancer is a slow-growing condition where the malignancies are mostly cancer of the skin. This skin cancer malignancy that is being caused by penile cancer is by far the most squamous cell carcinoma. The cancer of the penis occur mostly on the along the head or foreskin of the penile shaft.

In the United States penile cancer is very rare, out of 100,000 only one or two men are affected. The attempt to seek medical attention are often done long after the cancer have already spread.

There are also penile cancers which are melanomas, dark pigmentation that can spread widely and very rapidly. When the deep tissues of the penis develop cancer it is typically sarcomas, a malignant tumor which arises from connective tissues. The tumor gradually spreads growing larger in the affected area of the skin. The spread of

the tumor will reach the deep tissues of the penis including the lymph nodes in the inguinal area or the groin or the pelvis. When the cancer is contained in the penis and there’s only a few inguinal lymph nodes involve, it has a big potential to be cured. But when the cancer tumors had reach the pelvic are, cure rates can fall very rapidly. The stages of penile cancer are determined by a number of tests upon the discovery of the cancer. During the first stage the cancer cells are found on

the surface of the head and foreskin of the penis, on the second stage tumors are found in the glans and deeper tissues and have spread to the most part of the penis’ shaft. When the cancer cells are found in the penis and have spread widely to the lymph nodes of the inguinal area or groin, it means that the cancer has already reached stage three. Lastly, in stage four the cancer tumors are found all throughout the penile shaft, glans, foreskin and head and also the lymph nodes in the inguinal area or groin and other parts of the body.

Penile cancer in a sense is a disease caused by poor hygiene. The undersurface of the foreskin is home to numerous decaying cells or smegma which produces irritation that may lead to cancer. In addition to this, venereal warts are suspected to have medical relationship to the cases of penile cancer.

Circumcision during birth is a common practice in the United States. Men circumcised at birth almost don’t acquire penile cancer. But men who are circumcised during their puberty are slightly higher to encounter incidence of penile cancer. Men who are not circumcised at all have the same incidence of penile cancer as circumcised men.

The symptoms of penile cancer are lesion and raised lumps on the penis. It can begin from an unexplained discoloration and pigmentation of the skin. Biopsy like with most cancers is the way to diagnose penile cancers. The treatment of this disease will be determined by the size of the tumor and the stage of the cancer. The most common treatment options for penile cancer are; medication, chemotherapy, biological therapy, radiation and surgical therapy where in the most severe cases the amputation of the entire penis are an immediate necessity.