Andrology-Open Access
Open Access

Prevention and Treatment of Penile Cancer

Xiao Xu^{* *}Correspondence: Dr. Xiao Xu, Department of Urology and Andrology, China Medical University, Taiwan, China, Email:

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Description

Penile cancer is uncommon, but when it is discovered, it can be devastating to the patient's mental health and can be difficult for the urologist to treat. It's important to distinguish between benign, premalignant, and malignant diseases.

The most frequent penile malignancy, penile squamous cell carcinoma, behaves similarly to squamous cell carcinoma in other regions of the skin. In its early stages, this is a slow-growing cancer that seldom interferes with voiding or erectile function, thus patients do not complain until discomfort or a cancer discharge appears.

Prevention

Different forms of cancer are caused by various circumstances. Researchers are still trying to figure out what causes penile cancer and how to avoid it. Although there is no way to totally avoid penile cancer, there are several things you may do to reduce your risk.

• Circumcision: It appears that circumcision before maturity protects against penile cancer. Penile cancer is substantially less common in young men who have been circumcised, and epidermoid/squamous cell carcinoma of the penis nearly never develops in such males. It's worth noting, however, that circumcision lowers but does not eliminate the risk of penile cancer.

• Personal cleanliness is important. Cleaning under the foreskin thoroughly and on a frequent basis can help to reduce the chance of getting penile cancer.

• Avoiding sexual activities that might lead to an HPV or HIV/ AIDS infection, as well as not smoking, will help reduce your chance of developing penile cancer.

• Gardasil and Cervarix, two HPV vaccinations, may lower the incidence of HPV and, as a result, penile cancer.

• Condom usage has been linked to a lower risk of HPV-related penile cancer.

• Balanitis and penile cancer can be avoided by practicing good genital hygiene, which includes cleaning the penis, scrotum, and foreskin with water on a regular basis. Soaps with harsh substances, on the other side, should be avoided.

• Smoking cessation may lower the risk of penile cancer.

• Circumcision during childhood or adolescence may offer some protection against penile cancer. Several authors have suggested circumcision as a possible penile cancer prevention strategy; however, the American Cancer Society emphasises the disease's rarity and points out that neither the American Academy of Pediatrics nor the Canadian Academy of Pediatrics recommend routine neonatal circumcision.

• Phimosis can be avoided by maintaining good cleanliness and regularly retracting the foreskin.

• The foreskin should not be retracted for lengthy periods of time to avoid paraphimosis.

Treatment

Penile cancer treatment will differ based on the clinical stage of the tumour at the time of diagnosis. Depending on the stage of the malignancy, there are many therapy choices. Surgical procedures, radiation treatment, chemotherapy, and biological therapy are among them. One of five types of surgery is the most prevalent treatment:

• The tumour and some surrounding healthy tissue are removed in a wide local excision.

• Microsurgery is a type of surgery that uses a microscope to remove the tumour while leaving as little healthy tissue as possible.

• Laser surgery is the use of laser light to burn or cut away malignant cells.

• Circumcision is the removal of the malignant foreskin.

• Amputation (penectomy)-removal of the penis and perhaps accompanying lymph nodes in part or in whole.

• At specialist centres, radiation treatment is used to treat earlystage penile cancer in an organ-sparing manner. Adjuvant treatment is also used to treat individuals with locally advanced illness or to control symptoms.

• A lotion for your skin that contains medicine.

• Cryotherapy is a process that freezes and destroys malignant cells using a very cold liquid or gadget.

• Doctors remove damaged skin one layer at a time until they reach healthy tissue in Mohs surgery.

• Lasers are used to cut and remove cancerous tissues.

• A penectomy is a procedure in which part or all of your penis is removed.

• Chemotherapy and radiation may have an impact on your ability to have sex if you have early-stage penile cancer.