Outcomes with chemotherapy in carcinoma penis: Experience from a tertiary cancer center

Clinical Profile and Outcomes of Carcinoma Penis Patients Receiving Systemic Therapy at an Indian tertiary care Center: A Retrospective Observational Study

BACKGROUND

Penile cancer is a rare malignancy with scant data on the impact of systemic therapy on outcomes.

METHODS

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.

RESULTS

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.

CONCLUSIONS

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.