How do you identify penile cancer and precancerous stages of penile cancer?

Penile cancer usually goes through a precancerous stage before turning into full-blown cancer:

Bowenoid papulosis: this occurs mainly in younger men (< 35) and is one manifestation of infection with human papillomavirus (HPV).

Bowen’s disease: this primarily occurs in older men. It represents a superficial type of squamous cell carcinoma, limited to the surface of the skin and not yet growing into deeper skin layers.

Erythroplasia of Queyrat is a reddish discolouration of the skin of the head of the penis (glans) and is the mucous membrane version of Bowen’s disease.

• Any changes in the skin of the penis should be examined by a urologist as soon as possible.
• A tight foreskin (especially when it has been tight for a long time and in older men) can hide cancer and should be removed by circumcision.
• If penile cancer or a precancer is suspected, tissue samples should be taken and sent for histological examination.