PURPOSE: Penile cancer incidence is rising and suggested to be explained by changes in sexual practice and increased exposure of males to sexually transmitted high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) infection.
Previously, we found in penile cancers from a Dutch population treated in the years 1963-2001, a hrHPV prevalence of about 30%. Here, we assessed the prevalence of hrHPV-DNA in a more recent, contemporary penile cancer cohort and association with patient survival.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: hrHPV-DNA presence was assessed by GP5+6+-PCR in 212 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded invasive penile tumor specimens of patients treated between 2001 and 2009. Five-year disease-specific survival (DSS) was calculated using Kaplan-Meier method with log-rank test and Cox regression.
RESULTS: hrHPV-DNA was detected in a subset of penile cancer cases (25%; 95%-CI:19-31). HPV16 was the predominant type, representing 79% (42/53) of all hrHPV infections. Five-year DSS in the hrHPV-negative group and hrHPV-positive group was 82% and 96%, respectively (log rank test p=0.016). Adjusted for stage, grade, lymphovascular invasion (LVI) and age, HPV status was still prognostic for DSS (p=0.030) with a hazard ratio of 0.2 (95%-CI:0.1-0.9).
CONCLUSIONS: hrHPV DNA was observed in one-fourth of penile cancer cases. No relevant increase in hrHPV prevalence over the past decades was observed. The presence of hrHPV-DNA in penile cancer confers a survival advantage.
Written by:
Djajadiningrat RS, Jordanova ES, Kroon BK, van Werkhoven E, de Jong J, Pronk DT, Snijders PJ, Horenblas S, Heideman DA. Are you the author?
Department of Urology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Centre for Gynaecologic Oncology Amsterdam, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Biometrics, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Pathology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Pathology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Reference: J Urol. 2014 Aug 20. pii: S0022-5347(14)04261-X.
doi: 10.1016/j.juro.2014.08.087
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 25150641
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