Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jul 6;8(7):e34874.
doi: 10.2196/34874.

Global Pattern and Trends in Penile Cancer Incidence: Population-Based Study

Leiwen Fu #  1 , Tian Tian #  1 , Kai Yao #  2 , Xiang-Feng Chen  3   4   5 , Ganfeng Luo  1 , Yanxiao Gao  1 , Yi-Fan Lin  1 , Bingyi Wang  1 , Yinghui Sun  1 , Weiran Zheng  1 , Peiyang Li  1 , Yuewei Zhan  1 , Christopher K Fairley  6   7 , Andrew Grulich  8 , Huachun Zou  1   8
Affiliations

Global Pattern and Trends in Penile Cancer Incidence: Population-Based Study

Leiwen Fu et al. JMIR Public Health Surveill. .

Abstract

Background: Penile cancer is a relatively rare genital malignancy whose incidence and mortality are rising in many countries.

Objective: This study aims to assess the recent incidence and mortality patterns and incidence trends of penile cancer.

Methods: The age-standardized incidence and mortality rates (ASIR and ASMR, respectively) of penile cancer in 2020 were estimated from the Global Cancer Registries (GLOBOCAN) database. Incidence trends of penile cancer from 1973 to 2012 were assessed in 44 populations from 43 countries using the Cancer Incidence in Five Continents plus (CI5plus) and the Nordic Cancer Registries (NORDCAN) databases. Average annual percentage change was calculated to quantify trends in ASIR using joinpoint regression.

Results: Globally, the estimated ASIR and ASMR of penile cancer were 0.80 (per 100,000) and 0.29 (per 100,000) in 2020, equating to 36,068 new cases and 13,211 deaths in 2020, respectively. There was no significant correlation between the ASIR (P=.05) or ASMR (P=.90) and Human Development Index. In addition, 15 countries saw increasing ASIR for penile cancer, 13 of which were from Europe (United Kingdom, Lithuania, Norway, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Cyprus, Netherlands, Italy, Croatia, Slovakia, Russia, and the Czech), and 2 from Asia (China and Israel).

Conclusions: Although the developing countries still bear the higher incidence and mortality of penile cancer, the incidence is on the rise in most European countries. To mitigate the disease burden resulting from penile cancer, measures to lower the risk for penile cancers, including improving penile hygiene and male human papillomavirus vaccination, may be warranted.

Keywords: average annual percentage change; epidemiology; global burden; incidence; penile cancer.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: CKF owns shares in CSL Biotherapies. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest related to this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Estimated age-standardized incidence rate (world) in 2020 for penile cancer (A) and estimated age-standardized mortality rate (world) in 2020 for penile cancer (B). (GLOBOCAN 2020 [25]). Data obtained from GLOBOCAN 2020. Map produced by the IARC and WHO. [26].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution between (A) age-standardized incidence and (B) mortality rates of penile cancer and HDI (GLOBOCAN 2020). HDI: human development index.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Age-standardized (world standard population) rates of penile cancer incidence, 2008-2012. SEER: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Age-standardized incidence rates of penile cancer. (A) Trends in penile cancer incidence increasing. (B) Trends in penile cancer incidence decreasing. aRegional data.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Average annual percentage change (AAPC) of penile cancer incidence in the recent 15 years (1998-2012). astatistically significant; bregional data (incidence).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ahmed ME, Khalil MI, Kamel MH, Karnes RJ, Spiess PE. Progress on Management of Penile Cancer in 2020. Curr. Treat. Options in Oncol. 2020 Nov 23;22(1):4–4. doi: 10.1007/s11864-020-00802-3. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Moch H, Cubilla AL, Humphrey PA, Reuter VE, Ulbright TM. The 2016 WHO Classification of Tumours of the Urinary System and Male Genital Organs-Part A: Renal, Penile, and Testicular Tumours. Eur Urol. 2016 Jul;70(1):93–105. doi: 10.1016/j.eururo.2016.02.029.S0302-2838(16)00206-2 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bray F, Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Siegel RL, Torre LA, Jemal A. Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2018 Sep 12;:392–424. doi: 10.3322/caac.21492. doi: 10.3322/caac.21492. - DOI - DOI - PubMed
    1. Thomas A, Necchi A, Muneer A, Tobias-Machado M, Tran ATH, Van Rompuy A, Spiess PE, Albersen M. Penile cancer. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2021 Feb 11;7(1):11–11. doi: 10.1038/s41572-021-00246-5. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bleeker MCG, Heideman DAM, Snijders PJF, Horenblas S, Dillner J, Meijer CJLM. Penile cancer: epidemiology, pathogenesis and prevention. World J Urol. 2008 Jul 8;27(2):141–150. doi: 10.1007/s00345-008-0302-z. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources