Overall survival in carcinoma of the penis - a single institution study

Purpose: This retrospective study was performed to evaluate the overall survival (OS) and to identify some prognostic factors and their influence on the survival of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the penis (SCCP). Patients and methods: Fifty-nine patients with SCCP treated at the Clinic of Urology Medical University, Plovdiv, between 1980 and 2005, were studied. The patients' OS was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier life table method. Log-rank test was used to compare cumulative survival functions between different groups of patients. Results: During a mean follow-up period of 7.06 +/- 0.97 years (range 2 months-26years; median 4 years) 37 (62.71%) patients died (SCCP progression 29, intercurrent illness 7, other cause 1), giving a mean survival of time of 12.56 years (95% confidence interval [CI] = 9.46-15.67; median 14 years). The 5-year OS was 62.19%. The main adverse prognostic factors significanhy affecting the OS were: age (p = 0.0199), pathological (p) T stage (p = 0.0001), pN status (p = 0.0046) and pN stage (p = 0. 000 1). Conclusion: The prognostic,factors identified in this study are of great importance for the clinical practice, especially,for decision making over the treatment strategy involving primary tumor and regional lymph nodes.