Is conservative organ-sparing treatment of penile carcinoma justified?

Purpose: The results of different conservative organ-sparing methods - radiotherapy, chemotherapy and radiochemotherapy - in the treatment of penile carcinoma were studied. Materials and Methods: Conservatively treated 223 patients with penile carcinoma seen in th ree hospitals between 1959 and 1996 years were studied retrospectively. Among them 155 received radiotherapy, 33 chemotherapy, and 35 radiochemotherapy, Results: The local control was achieved in 135 (60.5%) of 223 patients. The difference in local control rate among these three groups of patients has not reached statistical significance. The efficacy of conservative treatment was highly associated with three factors: tumor size, grade and patient's age. Overall, 24 of 135 patients (17.7%) had local recurrence. Ten patients (4.5%) developed regional metastases. The recurrence rate did not correlate with tumor size and grade and was similar for all treatment modalities. Long-term results of each method were approximatley equal and 5-year survival varied from 78 to 88%, Conclusion: Conservative organ-sparing treatment of early-stage penile carcinomas is justified. Failure should be corrected by surgery without compromising survival. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.