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Objective: To evaluate the significance of close surgical margins in organ‐sparing surgery (OSS) in the treatment of penile squamous cell carcinoma (pSCC) and clinicopathological factors that may influence local recurrence. Patients and Methods: At our tertiary referral centre, between March 2001 and September 2012, 332 patients treated with OSS for pSCC had clear surgical margins. As the focus was the impact of close clear margins on local recurrence, patients with positive margins were excluded for the purpose of this study. Our overall positive margin rate for OSS in penile cancer is 7.6% (42 patients). Analysis was carried out on an on‐going prospective database, including prospective accurate pathological recording of surgical margins. Patients underwent OSS after multidisciplinary team (MDT) discussion. Local recurrence was the primary outcome measured and Fisher's exact test and time‐to‐recurrence curves were used in the analysis. All local recurrences were scrutinised by the MDT and were categorised into: true recurrences or metachronous new occurrences (i.e. tumours arising from a background of penile intraepithelial neoplasia and forming on an epithelial surface not related to the site of initial resection). A multivariate analysis was also conducted to elucidate other factors influencing local recurrence. Results: In all, 64% of the patients had a <5 mm clear deep surgical margin, with 16% clear by <1 mm. Overall, 4% of patients had a true local recurrence, with a median time to recurrence of 6 months. In all, 53% were due to embolic spread, with residual occult local disease accounting for 47%. There was a statistically significant relationship between cavernosal involvement (P = 0.014) and lymphovascular invasion (LVI; P = 0.001) and local recurrence. Although multivariate analysis revealed that the extent of clear margin was not a predictor of disease (P = 0.405), we found an increased risk of local recurrence in the clear margin cohort of <1 mm compared to those of >1 mm (P < 0.001). Those patients considered to have metachronous tumours were scrutinised by our MDT, and eight patients (2.4%) were found to have new occurrences. Our overall proportion of patients therefore needing further treatment for either new occurrences or recurrent disease after OSS stands at 6.4%. Conclusions: Overall the presence of local recurrent disease in OSS in our experience is low (4%). We report an embolic mechanism of local recurrence, strongly suggested by the presence of cavernosal involvement and LVI. We conclude that a deep clear margin of >1 mm has a very low risk of local recurrence in penile OSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stankiewicz E, Prowse D M, Ktori E, Cuzick J, Ambroisine L, Zhang X, Kudahetti S, Watkin N, Corbishley C & Berney D M (2011) Histopathology, 433-439 The pathogenesis of penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) is not well understood. Human papillomavirus (HPV) may be involved in carcinogenesis, but few studies have compared cell-cycle protein expression in HPV positive and negative cancers. The aim was to determine the extent of HPV infection in different histological subtypes of PSCC and its impact on the expression of key cell-cycle proteins: p53, p21, p16 and retinoblastoma (RB) protein. One hundred and forty-eight PSCC samples were examined immunohistochemically for RB, p16, p53 and p21 protein expression. One hundred and two cases were typed for HPV by PCR. HPV DNA was detected in 56% of tumours, with HPV16 present in 81%. Basaloid tumours were related strongly to HPV infection (10 of 13), while verrucous were not (three of 13). Fifty-nine per cent (38 of 64) of usual type SCCs had HPV infection. RB protein correlated negatively ( P < 0.0001) and p16 ( P < 0.0001) and p21 ( P = 0.0002) correlated positively with HPV infection. p53 did not correlate with HPV infection. HPV infection is present in more than half of penile cancers and it is responsible for RB pathway disruption. However, no link between HPV and p53 immunodetection was found. Only basaloid and half of usual-type PSSCs correlate with HPV infection, confirming possible separate aetiologies for those tumours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author comments on a study published within the issue about centralized histopathological review in penile cancer. The experiences of the author in managing penile cancer patients at St. George's Hospital in South London, England are highlighted. The significance of a central review and expert second opinion service in the management of penile cancer is emphasized.

Abstract: Objectives: We present medium-term outcome data for patients with invasive penile cancer treated with glansectomy and reconstruction with a split-thickness skin graft. Methods: A series of consecutive patients referred with penile malignancies over a 6-yr period were analyzed prospectively. A dedicated histopathologist reviewed all the specimens. After clinical staging, patients with tumours confined to the glans were offered glansectomy. Results: A total of 72 patients (32% of patients, 31% of procedures) underwent glansectomy for penile carcinoma. Of these, 65 patients were new diagnoses and seven were recurrences after radiotherapy. The mean follow-up period was 27 mo (range: 4–68 mo). There have been three late local recurrences (4%). Conclusion: Glansectomy appears to be an oncologically safe and effective procedure for patients with glans-confined squamous cell tumours. It preserves maximum phallic length and results in a very satisfactory cosmetic penile appearance after reconstruction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]