Clinicopathologic features and human papillomavirus DNA prevalence of warty and squamous cell carcinoma of the penis

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) accounts for 95% of penile malignant neoplasm s. A subtype of SCC, named warty carcinoma (WC), is a morphologically disti nct verruciform tumor with features of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related l esions. Descriptions of the behavior and histologic features of this tumor are scarce in the literature. The aim of this report is to analyze the clin icopathologic features and HPV deoxyribonucleic acid status in 60 SCCs and 11 WCs. The mean patient age was 46.5 +/- 15.9 years for WC and 52.6 +/- 12 .4 years for SCC. No significant differences in age (p = 0.154) and clinica l staging (T, p = 0.649; N, p = 0.497) between the two groups of tumors wer e found. When compared with SCCs. WCs exhibited less lymphatic embolization (p = 0.001), nodal metastasis (p = 0.019), and corpora cavernosa and corpu s spongiosum infiltration (p = 0.040). Lymph node metastases were found in 34 of 60 SCC patients (56.7%) and in two of 11 WC patients (18.2%). No pati ents with WC tumors died of the disease compared with 19 of 60 (5-year spec ific survival. 66.0%) in the SCC group (p = 0.032). HPV deoxyribonucleic ac id was more likely to be associated with WC (five of ii, 45.5%) than SCC (1 6 of 60, 26.7%), although significance was not reached (p = 0.209). The res ults suggest that WC is less aggressive and confers a better prognosis than typical SCC of the penis.