Penile Cancer and Syphilis: Report of Two Cases

Until recently, syphilis was considered a major cause of penis cancer. Penile cancer is an extremely rare form of urological cancer that usually originates in the epithelium of the inner preputium or glans. The diagnosis of the condition is frequently delayed, and the disease and its treatment frequently result in significant morbidity in patients. Major etiological factors include phimosis, poor penile hygiene and smoking. Nearly 95% of penile cancers are squamous cell carcinomas and usually occur in the sixth decade of life. The disease exhibits two variants, namely metastatic and atypical disease. Squamous differentiation may also present with mucinous metaplasia. An extremely limited number of case reports on penile cancer and syphilis are available in the literature. Penile cancer is an uncommon disease affecting only about one in 100,000 men worldwide annually.(1) While penile cancer often refers to squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) of the penis in the literature, the term has also been used to describe nonsquamous penile malignant neoplasms. This lesion has been associated with invasive squamous cell carcinoma; however, metastasis without an invasive component is extremely rare. We report a two case in which syphilisi and penile cancer were diagnosed at presentation.

Keywords: syphilis, cancer, male, squamous cell.