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Incidence of penile intraepithelial neoplasia and incidence and survival of penile cancer in Denmark, 1997 to 2018

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Abstract

Purpose

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the penis is rare. Some studies have suggested that the incidence is increasing but the available literature is equivocal. We examined the incidence of high-grade penile intraepithelial neoplasia (PeIN), the incidence and 5-year relative survival as well as mortality of penile SCC in Denmark over the latest 20 years.

Methods

New cases of high-grade PeIN and penile cancer were identified from high-quality nationwide registries. Age-standardized (World) incidence rates per 100,000 person-years and average annual percentage change (AAPC) were estimated. For penile SCC, 5-year relative survival was calculated, and Cox regression was used to examine the effect of selected characteristics on mortality.

Results

Altogether, 1,070 new cases of high-grade PeIN were diagnosed (1997–2018) and the incidence increased from 0.87 to 1.84 per 100,000 person-years from 1997–1998 to 2017–2018 (AAPC = 4.73; 95% CI: 3.54–5.94). We identified 1,216 penile cancer cases (1997–2018) (95.7% SCC). The incidence of penile SCC increased slightly from 0.85 per 100,000 person-years in 1997–1998 to 1.13 per 100,000 person-years in 2017–2018 (AAPC = 1.01; 95% CI: 0.24–1.79). The 5-year relative survival of penile SCC did not change substantially, whereas the mortality tended to decrease.

Conclusion

Penile SCC is increasing slightly in Denmark, while a pronounced increase in the incidence of high-grade PeIN is seen. The 5-year relative survival from penile cancer was relatively stable over time. Increasing exposure to HPV infection at the population level may have contributed to the observed increase in PeIN and penile SCC. Awareness of HPV may also have contributed to the increased detection of PeIN.

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Funding

No specific funding was obtained for the present project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit of Virus, Lifestyle and Genes, Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Strandboulevarden 49, DK-2100, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Tina Bech Olesen, Freja L. Sand, Christian Munk & Susanne K. Kjaer

  2. Unit of Statistics and Data Analysis, Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Gitte L. Aalborg

  3. Department of Gynecology, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Susanne K. Kjaer

Authors
  1. Tina Bech Olesen
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  2. Freja L. Sand
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  3. Gitte L. Aalborg
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  4. Christian Munk
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  5. Susanne K. Kjaer
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Contributions

TBO, FLS, CM, and SKK conceptualized and designed the study; GLA analyzed the data; all authors contributed to the interpretation of the data. TBO, CM, and SKK drafted the article; all authors revised the article critically for important intellectual content. All authors approved the final version of the article to be submitted. All authors agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tina Bech Olesen.

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Conflict of interest

FLS has received speaker’s fee and support for conference participation from Becton, Dickinson and Company. SKK has received speaker’s fee from Merck and research grant through her institution from Merck. The remaining authors declared no conflicts of interest.

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Not required for registry-based studies in Denmark.

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Not required for registry-based studies in Denmark.

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Not required for registry-based studies in Denmark.

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Olesen, T.B., Sand, F.L., Aalborg, G.L. et al. Incidence of penile intraepithelial neoplasia and incidence and survival of penile cancer in Denmark, 1997 to 2018. Cancer Causes Control 33, 117–123 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-021-01510-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-021-01510-5

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