What is Penile Cancer
Penile cancer is a rare type of cancer and occurs on the foreskin, the glans (head) of the penis, or on the skin of the penile shaft. It occurs mostly in uncircumcised men (men who still have foreskin around the head of the penis).
There are several types of penile cancer:
- squamous cell cancer (SCC) – the most common type of cancer of the penis which accounts for around 95% of cases
- carcinoma in situ (CIS), penile intraepithelial neoplasia (PeIN) – the earliest stage of squamous cell penile cancer where cancer cells are only found in the very top layer of the skin cells
- basal cell carcinoma (BCC) – anther type of skin cancer that can develop in deeper cells of the squamous cells
- adenocarcinoma – a type that develops in the sweat glands in the skin of the penis
- melanoma of the penis
- penile sarcoma – a very rare type of cancer that develops in the deeper tissues of the penis.