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Cancer - penis - Symptom

Alternative Names

Penile cancer; Squamous cell cancer - penis

Symptoms:

Genital lesions on the penis
Painless sore on penis (occasionally, the lesion may cause pain)
Penis pain and bleeding from the penis (may occur with advanced disease)

Signs and tests:

The health care provider will perform a physical exam, which may reveal a non-tender lesion that looks like a pimple or wart. This growth is typically near the end of the penis.

A biopsy of the growth is needed to confirm if it is cancer.

Male reproductive anatomy

Male reproductive system

Reviewed last on: 11/10/2008
David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and James R. Mason, MD, Oncologist, Director, Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program and Stem Cell Processing Lab, Scripps Clinic, Torrey Pines, California. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Pettaway CA, Lynch DF, Davis JW. Tumors of the penis. In: Wein AJ, ed. Campbell-Walsh Urology. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 31.

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