One of the documented benefits of neonatal circumcision is protection against invasive penile cancer.
To date there have been a handful of published cases of invasive penile cancer in men circumcised as neonates. We report a case of a 73-year-old man, with a history of neonatal circumcision with no evidence of previous human papillomavirus exposure, who developed a buried penis secondary to obesity. He was diagnosed with Grade 2, pT3N0 squamous cell carcinoma of the penis. This report suggests that buried penis may pose a risk factor for the development of penile cancer despite the protective effects of neonatal circumcision. Thus periodic examination of a buried penis is warranted even in patients with no risk factors for penile cancer. A review of the literature is provided.
Written by:
Abdulla A, Daya D, Pinthus J, Davies T. Are you the author?
McMaster Institute of Urology, Division of Urology, Department of Surgery McMaster University, Hamilton, ON.
Reference: Can Urol Assoc J. 2012 Oct;6(5):E199-202.
doi: 10.5489/cuaj.11226
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 23093645
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