Differences in overall survival of penile cancer patients versus population‐based controls

Purpose To assess whether 5‐year overall survival (OS) of squamous cell carcinoma of the penis (SCCP) patients differs from age‐matched male population‐based controls. Methods We relied on the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database (2004–2018) to identify newly diagnosed (2004–2013) SCCP patients. For each case, we simulated an age‐matched control (Monte Carlo simulation), relying on the Social Security Administration (SSA) Life Tables with 5 years of follow‐up. We compared OS between SCCP patients and population‐based controls in a stage‐specific fashion. Smoothed cumulative incidence plots displayed cancer‐specific mortality (CSM) versus other‐cause mortality (OCM). Results Of 2282 SCCP patients, the stage distribution was as follows: stage I 976 (43%) versus stage II 826 (36%) versus stage III 302 (13%) versus stage IV 178 (8%). At 5 years, OS of SCCP patients versus age‐matched population‐based controls was as follows: stage I 63% versus 80% (Δ = 17%), stage II 50% versus 80% (Δ = 30%), stage III 39% versus 84% (Δ = 45%), stage IV 26% versus 87% (Δ = 61%). At 5 years, CSM versus OCM in SCCP patients according to stage was as follows: stage I 12% versus 24%, stage II 22% versus 28%, stage III 47% versus 14%, and stage IV 60% versus 14%. Conclusion SCCP patients exhibit worse OS across all stages. The difference in OS at 5 years between SCCP and age‐matched male population‐based controls ranged from 17% to 61%. At 5 years, CSM accounted for 12% to 60% of all deaths, across all stages.