Primary and Adjuvant Radiation Therapy in the Management of Penile Cancer

Abstract

Penile cancer is an uncommon male cancer that has historically been treated with penectomy. Although penectomy provides a high local control rate, it is also associated with significant psychosocial side effects. This has resulted in growing interest in an organ-preserving approach whenever possible. This chapter will focus on the use of radiation therapy in the treatment of penile cancer, especially in the setting of organ preservation. The use of brachytherapy as well as external beam radiation therapy will be covered. Patients undergoing interstitial brachytherapy for penile cancer achieve local control and organ preservation in the range of 70–85 % and cause-specific survival in the range of 84–92 %. The use of external beam radiation therapy produces local control rates in the range of 50–70 % and penile preservation in the range of 55–66 %. The cause-specific survival ranges from 66 to 99 %. In this chapter, we will review the pertinent literature concerning radiation therapy techniques in the treatment of penile cancer.