Purpose: The results of different conservative organ-sparing methods - radiotherapy, chemotherapy and radiochemotherapy - in the treatment of penile carcinoma were studied.
Materials and methods: Conservatively treated 223 patients with penile carcinoma seen in three hospitals between 1959 and 1996 years were studied retrospectively. Among them 155 received radiotherapy, 33 chemotherapy, and 35 radiochemotherapy.
Results: The local control was achieved in 135 (60.5%) of 223 patients. The difference in local control rate among these three groups of patients has not reached statistical significance. The efficacy of conservative treatment was highly associated with three factors: tumor size, grade and patient's age. Overall, 24 of 135 patients (17.7%) had local recurrence. Ten patients (4.5%) developed regional metastases. The recurrence rate did not correlate with tumor size and grade and was similar for all treatment modalities. Long-term results of each method were approximatley equal and 5-year survival varied from 78 to 88%.
Conclusion: Conservative organ-sparing treatment of early-stage penile carcinomas is justified. Failure should be corrected by surgery without compromising survival.