Researchers have found that neoadjuvant chemotherapy may be safe and effective in patients with locally advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma, according to a recent study published by Rose et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The findings may help address a critical gap in evidence regarding treatment options for this rare and aggressive cancer type.
Background
Patients with penile squamous cell carcinoma often have poor prognoses and limited treatment options. There have been few studies focused on better understanding and managing this disease.
Consolidative lymphadenectomy is a surgical procedure to remove and dissect lymph nodes to test for malignancy. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is often administered to help shrink a tumor prior to surgical resection.
Study Methods and Results
In the recent study, the researchers examined the outcomes of 209 patients with locally advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by consolidative lymphadenectomy.
The researchers discovered that 57.2% of the patients achieved an objective response—with 43.2% of them achieving a partial response and 13.9% achieving a complete response. The patients who responded to therapy experienced significantly longer overall survival compared with those who didn’t respond to therapy. Further, those who responded had a median overall survival of 73 months vs 17 months, respectively. The researchers demonstrated that the patients had a median progression-free survival of 26 months, representing the potential for long-term disease control.
“We also found that neoadjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy was well tolerated, with only 17% of patients experiencing grade 3 or higher treatment-related adverse events. Importantly, no treatment-related mortality was observed,” revealed senior study author Jad Chahoud, MD, MPH, Assistant Member of the Genitourinary Oncology Department at the Moffitt Cancer Center.
Conclusions
Clinical trial efforts are currently ongoing to improve outcomes in patients with penile squamous cell carcinoma. The researchers emphasized that their findings may help clinical decision-making and could shape treatment strategies for this patient population.
“Our findings provide compelling evidence for the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in treating locally advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma. These results underscore the importance of a multimodal approach in addressing this challenging disease and offer hope for improved patient outcomes,” concluded co–study author Philippe Spiess, MD, Assistant Chief of Surgical Services and Senior Member of the Genitourinary Oncology Department at the Moffitt Cancer Center.
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit academic.oup.com.
