Published on in Vol 8, No 7 (2022): July

Global Pattern and Trends in Penile Cancer Incidence: Population-Based Study

Global Pattern and Trends in Penile Cancer Incidence: Population-Based Study

Global Pattern and Trends in Penile Cancer Incidence: Population-Based Study

Original Paper

1School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

2Department of Urology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China

3Center for Reproductive Medicine, Ren Ji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

4Shanghai Key Laboratory for Assisted Reproduction and Reproductive Genetics, Shanghai, China

5Shanghai Human Sperm Bank, Shanghai, China

6Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

7Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Health, Melbourne, Australia

8Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

*these authors contributed equally

Corresponding Author:

Huachun Zou, PhD

School of Public Health (Shenzhen)

Sun Yat-sen University

Room 107, Unit 3, Building 3, Gezhi Garden

132 Waihuandong Road, Panyu District

Guangzhou, Guangdong, 511431

China

Phone: 86 20 8733 5651

Email: zouhuachun@mail.sysu.edu.cn


Background: Penile cancer is a relatively rare genital malignancy whose incidence and mortality are rising in many countries.

Objective: This study aims to assess the recent incidence and mortality patterns and incidence trends of penile cancer.

Methods: The age-standardized incidence and mortality rates (ASIR and ASMR, respectively) of penile cancer in 2020 were estimated from the Global Cancer Registries (GLOBOCAN) database. Incidence trends of penile cancer from 1973 to 2012 were assessed in 44 populations from 43 countries using the Cancer Incidence in Five Continents plus (CI5plus) and the Nordic Cancer Registries (NORDCAN) databases. Average annual percentage change was calculated to quantify trends in ASIR using joinpoint regression.

Results: Globally, the estimated ASIR and ASMR of penile cancer were 0.80 (per 100,000) and 0.29 (per 100,000) in 2020, equating to 36,068 new cases and 13,211 deaths in 2020, respectively. There was no significant correlation between the ASIR (P=.05) or ASMR (P=.90) and Human Development Index. In addition, 15 countries saw increasing ASIR for penile cancer, 13 of which were from Europe (United Kingdom, Lithuania, Norway, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Cyprus, Netherlands, Italy, Croatia, Slovakia, Russia, and the Czech), and 2 from Asia (China and Israel).

Conclusions: Although the developing countries still bear the higher incidence and mortality of penile cancer, the incidence is on the rise in most European countries. To mitigate the disease burden resulting from penile cancer, measures to lower the risk for penile cancers, including improving penile hygiene and male human papillomavirus vaccination, may be warranted.

JMIR Public Health Surveill 2022;8(7):e34874

doi:10.2196/34874

Keywords



Penile cancer is rare and can occur anywhere on the penis, although most cases arise from the squamous epithelium of glans, coronal sulcus, and prepuce or foreskin. About 95% of penile cancer is classified as squamous cell carcinoma but penile cancer also includes sarcoma, melanoma, and basal cell carcinoma [Ahmed ME, Khalil MI, Kamel MH, Karnes RJ, Spiess PE. Progress on Management of Penile Cancer in 2020. Curr. Treat. Options in Oncol 2020 Nov 23;22(1):4-4. [CrossRef]1,Moch H, Cubilla AL, Humphrey PA, Reuter VE, Ulbright TM. The 2016 WHO Classification of Tumours of the Urinary System and Male Genital Organs-Part A: Renal, Penile, and Testicular Tumours. Eur Urol 2016 Jul;70(1):93-105. [CrossRef] [Medline]2]. The estimated age-standardized incidence of penile cancer worldwide was 0.80 per 100,000 person-years in 2018, and the incidence is predicted to increase by more than 56% by 2040, according to the Global Cancer Registries (GLOBOCAN) Cancer Tomorrow prediction tool [Bray F, Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Siegel RL, Torre LA, Jemal A. Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin 2018 Sep 12:392-424 [FREE Full text] [CrossRef] [Medline]3]. The change can be largely attributed to the increasing aging of the population, as penile cancer mostly affects older men with a peak in incidence in the sixth decade [Thomas A, Necchi A, Muneer A, Tobias-Machado M, Tran ATH, Van Rompuy A, et al. Penile cancer. Nat Rev Dis Primers 2021 Feb 11;7(1):11-11. [CrossRef]4]. In certain Asian, African, and South American countries, the incidence of penile cancer constitutes up to 10% of malignancies in men [Thomas A, Necchi A, Muneer A, Tobias-Machado M, Tran ATH, Van Rompuy A, et al. Penile cancer. Nat Rev Dis Primers 2021 Feb 11;7(1):11-11. [CrossRef]4,Bleeker MCG, Heideman DAM, Snijders PJF, Horenblas S, Dillner J, Meijer CJLM. Penile cancer: epidemiology, pathogenesis and prevention. World J Urol 2008 Jul 8;27(2):141-150. [CrossRef]5]. The 5-year survival rate of penile cancer is about 65% but greater in countries with greater access to treatment [Verhoeven R, Janssen-Heijnen M, Saum K, Zanetti R, Caldarella A, Holleczek B, et al. Population-based survival of penile cancer patients in Europe and the United States of America: No improvement since 1990. European Journal of Cancer 2013 Apr;49(6):1414-1421. [CrossRef]6]. The treatments for penile cancer can be disfiguring and affects the patient’s quality of life and sexual function [Thomas A, Necchi A, Muneer A, Tobias-Machado M, Tran ATH, Van Rompuy A, et al. Penile cancer. Nat Rev Dis Primers 2021 Feb 11;7(1):11-11. [CrossRef]4,Dräger DL, Milerski S, Sievert KD, Hakenberg OW. Psychosoziale Auswirkungen bei Patienten mit Peniskarzinom. Urologe 2018 Feb 23;57(4):444-452. [CrossRef]7].

There are many causes of penile cancer. Factors that increase the risk include phimosis, poor personal hygiene, and persistent high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection [Douglawi A, Masterson TA. Updates on the epidemiology and risk factors for penile cancer. Transl. Androl. Urol 2017 Oct;6(5):785-790. [CrossRef]8,Douglawi A, Masterson TA. Penile cancer epidemiology and risk factors: a contemporary review. Curr Opin Urol 2019 Mar;29(2):145-149. [CrossRef] [Medline]9]. Phimosis can lead to poor sanitation under the preputial skin and accumulation of smegma, which has been proved to be carcinogenic in animals [Thomas A, Necchi A, Muneer A, Tobias-Machado M, Tran ATH, Van Rompuy A, et al. Penile cancer. Nat Rev Dis Primers 2021 Feb 11;7(1):11-11. [CrossRef]4,Plaut A, Kohn-Speyer AC. The Carcinogenic Action of Smegma. Science 1947 Apr 11;105(2728):391-392. [CrossRef]10-Micali G, Nasca MR, Innocenzi D, Schwartz RA. Penile cancer. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 2006 Mar;54(3):369-391. [CrossRef]12]. Phimosis may also aggravate balanitis and dermatitis, and is related to the development of aggressive penile malignancies [Thomas A, Necchi A, Muneer A, Tobias-Machado M, Tran ATH, Van Rompuy A, et al. Penile cancer. Nat Rev Dis Primers 2021 Feb 11;7(1):11-11. [CrossRef]4,Reuter S, Gupta SC, Chaturvedi MM, Aggarwal BB. Oxidative stress, inflammation, and cancer: How are they linked? Free Radical Biology and Medicine 2010 Dec;49(11):1603-1616. [CrossRef]13,Elinav E, Nowarski R, Thaiss CA, Hu B, Jin C, Flavell RA. Inflammation-induced cancer: crosstalk between tumours, immune cells and microorganisms. Nat Rev Cancer 2013 Oct 24;13(11):759-771. [CrossRef]14]. Uncircumcised men with poor genital hygiene, even without phimosis, may also have retention of microorganisms and secretions [Micali G, Nasca MR, Innocenzi D, Schwartz RA. Penile cancer. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 2006 Mar;54(3):369-391. [CrossRef]12,Jin J. HPV Infection and Cancer. JAMA 2018 Mar 13;319(10):1058. [CrossRef]15,Gregoire L, Cubilla AL, Reuter VE, Haas GP, Lancaster WD. Preferential Association of Human Papillomavirus With High-Grade Histologic Variants of Penile-Invasive Squamous Cell Carcinoma. JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1995 Nov 15;87(22):1705-1709. [CrossRef]16]. A meta-analysis study reported that the pooled detection rate of HPV DNA among penile cancer cases was 50.8% [Olesen TB, Sand FL, Rasmussen CL, Albieri V, Toft BG, Norrild B, et al. Prevalence of human papillomavirus DNA and p16INK4a in penile cancer and penile intraepithelial neoplasia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Oncology 2019 Jan;20(1):145-158. [CrossRef]17]. HPV-16, HPV-6, and HPV-18 are the most common types involved [Olesen TB, Sand FL, Rasmussen CL, Albieri V, Toft BG, Norrild B, et al. Prevalence of human papillomavirus DNA and p16INK4a in penile cancer and penile intraepithelial neoplasia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Oncology 2019 Jan;20(1):145-158. [CrossRef]17-Hernandez B, Shvetsov Y, Goodman M, Wilkens L, Thompson P, Zhu X, et al. Reduced Clearance of Penile Human Papillomavirus Infection in Uncircumcised Men. J INFECT DIS 2010 May;201(9):1340-1343. [CrossRef]19]. Precancerous lesions associated with HPV infection increase the risk of invasive penile cancer, such as Bowen disease, erythroplasia of Queyrat, and bowenoid papulosis [Thomas A, Necchi A, Muneer A, Tobias-Machado M, Tran ATH, Van Rompuy A, et al. Penile cancer. Nat Rev Dis Primers 2021 Feb 11;7(1):11-11. [CrossRef]4]. Furthermore, lack of circumcision, tobacco use, ultraviolet A phototherapy, lichen sclerosis, penile trauma, and low socioeconomic status are also found to be associated with penile cancer [Douglawi A, Masterson TA. Updates on the epidemiology and risk factors for penile cancer. Transl. Androl. Urol 2017 Oct;6(5):785-790. [CrossRef]8]. The incidence of penile cancer is negatively correlated with the Human Development Index (HDI) [Forman D, de MC, Lacey CJ, Soerjomataram I, Lortet-Tieulent J, Bruni L, et al. Global burden of human papillomavirus and related diseases. Vaccine 2012 Nov 20;30 Suppl 5:F12-F23. [CrossRef] [Medline]20].

The incidence of penile cancer has been increasing in many areas in the past few decades [Hansen BT, Orumaa M, Lie AK, Brennhovd B, Nygård M. Trends in incidence, mortality and survival of penile squamous cell carcinoma in Norway 1956-2015. Int. J. Cancer 2017 Dec 15;142(8):1586-1593. [CrossRef]21-Daubisse-Marliac L, Colonna M, Trétarre B, Defossez G, Molinié F, Jéhannin-Ligier K, et al. Long-term trends in incidence and survival of penile cancer in France. Cancer Epidemiology 2017 Oct;50:125-131. [CrossRef]23]. There was a 21% increase, from 1.1 to 1.3 per 100,000, in penile cancer incidence in England between 1979 and 2009 [Arya M, Li R, Pegler K, Sangar V, Kelly JD, Minhas S, et al. Long-term trends in incidence, survival and mortality of primary penile cancer in England. Cancer Causes Control 2013 Oct 8;24(12):2169-2176. [CrossRef]24]; in Norway, the incidence of penile cancer increased from 0.6 to 0.9 per 100,000 between 1956 and 2015 [Hansen BT, Orumaa M, Lie AK, Brennhovd B, Nygård M. Trends in incidence, mortality and survival of penile squamous cell carcinoma in Norway 1956-2015. Int. J. Cancer 2017 Dec 15;142(8):1586-1593. [CrossRef]21]; the incidence of penile cancer in Germany increased from 1.2 per 100,000 in 1961 to 1.8 per 100,000 in 2012 [Schoffer O, Neumann A, Stabenow R, Schülein S, Böhm W, Gonsior A, et al. Penile cancer – Incidence, mortality, and survival in Saxony, Germany. Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations 2019 Apr;37(4):295.e1-295.e8. [CrossRef]22]. While previous studies have focused on the incidence trend of penile cancer in specific regions and populations, few reports are available on global patterns and long-term trends in the burden of penile cancer. Understanding the epidemiology of penile cancer can help shed light on factors underlying changing trends.

We aimed to examine the geographical variations in incidence and mortality patterns of penile cancer among 185 countries in 2020 and the long-term incidence trends in 43 countries with 44 populations during the period between1973 and 2012. Our objective is to inform future research and assist policymakers in adopting sound cancer control initiatives.


Data Source

The estimated data were extracted from the GLOBOCAN Database from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) [International Agency for Research on Cancer.   URL: http://gco.iarc.fr/today [accessed 2022-03-01] 25] to assess the global burden of penile cancer in 185 countries and regions in 2020 [Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, Laversanne M, Soerjomataram I, Jemal A, et al. Global cancer statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin 2021 Feb 04:209-249 [FREE Full text] [CrossRef] [Medline]26]. The population-based penile cancer incidence data, with the requirement of at least 15 consecutive years of data, were from Cancer Incidence in 5 Continents (CI5) volumes [Cancer Incidence in Five Continents.   URL: http://ci5.iarc.fr/Default.aspx [accessed 2022-03-01] 27], CI5plus [CI5plus database.   URL: http://ci5.iarc.fr/CI5plus/Default.aspx [accessed 2022-03-01] 28], and the Nordic Cancer Registries (NORDCAN) database [Association of the Nordic Cancer Registries.   URL: https://www.ancr.nu/cancer-data/nordcan-on-the-web/ [accessed 2022-03-01] 29]. The quality of the data sources used in this paper has been evaluated in previous studies to assess the incidence trends of other cancers [Bray F, Ferlay J, Laversanne M, Brewster D, Gombe Mbalawa C, Kohler B, et al. Cancer Incidence in Five Continents: Inclusion criteria, highlights from Volume X and the global status of cancer registration. Int. J. Cancer 2015 Aug 14;137(9):2060-2071. [CrossRef]30-J. Ferlay, M. Colombet, F. Bray. Cancer incidence in five continents. IARC CancerBase No 9 Internet, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France: CI5plus; 2018.32]. The CI5plus database contains updated annual incidence rates for 124 selected populations from 108 cancer registries published in CI5, representing 43 countries, for the period from 1973 to 2012 [J. Ferlay, M. Colombet, F. Bray. Cancer incidence in five continents. IARC CancerBase No 9 Internet, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France: CI5plus; 2018.32]. The NORDCAN database and program include detailed information and results on cancer incidence, mortality, and prevalence in each of the Nordic countries over 5 decades.

Four levels of HDI were used to further assess the cancer burden according to a binary proxy of development (low and medium HDI vs high and very high HDI) in GLOBOCAN 2020. The incidence data of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden were extracted from the NORDCAN database for the years 1953-2016 [B. Danckert, J. Ferlay, G. Engholm. Cancer incidence, mortality, prevalence and survival in the Nordic countries. Association of the Nordic Cancer Registries, Danish Cancer Society: NORDCAN; 2019.33]. The incidence data of Australia, Croatia, Czech Republic, New Zealand, and Russia were supplemented by their corresponding official national cancer data (Table 1) [Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2021.   URL: http://www.aihw.gov.au/acim-books/ [accessed 2022-03-01] 34-Russian Oncology Portal.   URL: http://www.oncology.ru/service/statistics/malignant_tumors/ [accessed 2022-03-01] 38]. For volume XI, years 2008-2012 included plotting the overall age-standardized rate by country. Overall, incidence trends were evaluated for 44 populations from 43 countries. As many as 24 out of 43 countries were nationally representative and the representativeness of data in the remaining 19 countries has been verified in previous studies [Gurney JK, Florio AA, Znaor A, Ferlay J, Laversanne M, Sarfati D, et al. International Trends in the Incidence of Testicular Cancer: Lessons from 35 Years and 41 Countries. European Urology 2019 Nov;76(5):615-623. [CrossRef]39,Arnold M, Sierra MS, Laversanne M, Soerjomataram I, Jemal A, Bray F. Global patterns and trends in colorectal cancer incidence and mortality. Gut 2016 Jan 27;66(4):683-691. [CrossRef]40].

Statistical Analysis

The age-standardized rates were calculated using the World standard population [Segi M. Cancer Mortality for Selected Sites in 24 Countries (1950–57). Tohoku University School of Public Health: Sendai, Japan; 1960.41]. Trends in incidence are shown with smoothed lines on fitting locally weighted regression (LOWESS) curves, and joinpoint regression (Joinpoint regression program 4.9.0.0, available through the Surveillance Research Program of the US National Cancer Institute) was used to assess temporal trends, which involves fitting a series of joined straight lines to age-standardized incidence rates (ASIRs) trends [Kim HJ, Fay MP, Feuer EJ, Midthune DN. Permutation tests for joinpoint regression with applications to cancer rates. Stat Med 2000 Feb 15;19(3):335-351. [CrossRef] [Medline]42]. Changes in annual incidence rates of penile cancer were calculated as an annual percentage change (APC) in each segment. The joinpoint analysis provided the average annual percentage change (AAPC). To comprehensively estimate the magnitude and direction of trends, we calculated the AAPC and the corresponding 95% CI for the last available 15 years (1998-2012) and those available during the completed period in each country from the database. Correlation analysis was used to test the correlation between the ASIR or age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) and HDI. All statistical analyses were done using R software 3.6.0 (R Core Team).


Prediction of Incidence and Mortality Patterns in 2020

The global estimated ASIR of penile cancer was 0.8 (per 100,000) in 2020, with estimates indicating 36,068 newly diagnosed cases (Figure 1A and

Multimedia Appendix 1

Estimated new cases number and age-standardized incidence rates for penile cancer.

DOCX File , 32 KBMultimedia Appendix 1). The ASIR of penile cancer varied among 5 continents, with higher ASIRs being observed in Southern Africa, South Asia, and South America. In 2020, the largest number of incident cases was estimated to have occurred in India (n=16,677), China (n=4628), and Brazil (n=1658). The highest ASIRs were found in Eswatini (7.0 per 100,000), Uganda (4.6 per 100,000), and Botswana (4.4 per 100,000), while the lowest were mostly concentrated in countries in Northern Africa, such as Nigeria and Libya (less than 0.01 per 100,000).

Estimates suggest that 13,211 men with penile cancer died in 2020 globally, corresponding to an ASMR of 0.29 cases per 100,000 (Figure 1B and

Multimedia Appendix 2

Estimated death cases number and age-standardized mortality rates for penile cancer.

DOCX File , 30 KBMultimedia Appendix 2). Geographical patterns of ASMR were similar to those of ASIR, and the highest penile cancer ASMRs were noted in Eswatini (3.5 per 100,000) and Uganda (2.4 per 100,000). The largest number of deaths occurred in India (n=4760), China (n=1565), and Brazil (n=539) in 2020.

Both ASIR and ASMR in low- and middle-income countries were nearly twice as those in high-income countries (Multimedia Appendices 1 and Moch H, Cubilla AL, Humphrey PA, Reuter VE, Ulbright TM. The 2016 WHO Classification of Tumours of the Urinary System and Male Genital Organs-Part A: Renal, Penile, and Testicular Tumours. Eur Urol 2016 Jul;70(1):93-105. [CrossRef] [Medline]2). Low- and middle-income countries accounted for 40.20% (14,499/36,068) of the incidence and 47.73% (6305/13,211) of the deaths from penile cancer globally, respectively. There was no significant correlation between the ASIR or ASMR and HDI (ρ=1.43, P=.05; ρ=−0.01, P=.90; Figure 2).

Figure 1. Estimated age-standardized incidence rate (world) in 2020 for penile cancer (A) and estimated age-standardized mortality rate (world) in 2020 for penile cancer (B). (GLOBOCAN 2020 [International Agency for Research on Cancer.   URL: http://gco.iarc.fr/today [accessed 2022-03-01] 25]). Data obtained from GLOBOCAN 2020. Map produced by the IARC and WHO. [Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, Laversanne M, Soerjomataram I, Jemal A, et al. Global cancer statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin 2021 Feb 04:209-249 [FREE Full text] [CrossRef] [Medline]26].
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Figure 2. Distribution between (A) age-standardized incidence and (B) mortality rates of penile cancer and HDI (GLOBOCAN 2020). HDI: human development index.
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Incidence Rates in 2008-2012

Among 44 populations from 43 countries included in the analysis, the highest ASIR of penile cancer between 2008 and 2012 was in Uganda (2.2 per 100,000), followed by Brazil (2.1 per 100,000), Thailand (1.4 per 100,000), and India (1.4 per 100,000) (Figure 3). The lowest ASIR was in Kuwait (0.1 per 100,000) and ASIRs were less than 0.5 per 100,000 in East Asia and West Asia.

Figure 3. Age-standardized (world standard population) rates of penile cancer incidence, 2008-2012. SEER: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program.
View this figure

Trends in Incidence

The trends in the ASIR of penile cancer between one year and another in 44 populations from 43 countries are displayed in Figure 4. Limited data in some populations meant we could calculate the AAPCs of penile cancer only in 40 populations from 39 countries (Table 1). The largest increase in ASIR was in Israel (AAPC 7.2, 95% CI 3.4 to 11.1; P=.001), followed by Cyprus (4.6, 95% CI 0.2 to 9.1; P=.04), Croatia (3.6, 95% CI 2.2 to 5.0; P<.001), and Lithuania (2.6, 95% CI 0.8 to 4.4; P=.007). ASIRs for penile cancer have significantly increased in 15 populations of which 7 were from Northern Europe (United Kingdom, P<.001; Lithuania, P=.007; Norway, P=.002; Estonia, P=.02; Finland, P=.001; Sweden, P=.006; and Cyprus, P=.04). In Uganda, the ASIR trend of penile cancer showed a rapid increase between 2007 and 2012. The corresponding APC was 53.3 (95% CI 12.4 to 109.0; P=.01).

ASIRs of penile cancer in 5 out of 40 populations, including 3 from Northern America and 2 from Asia, significantly decreased. These decreases were in the Philippines (–2.9, 95% CI –4.5 to –1.2; P=.002), India (–2.5, 95% CI –3.4 to –1.6; P<.001), the USA White (–1.9, 95% CI –3.1 to –0.6; P=.006), the USA Black (–0.8, 95% CI –1.4 to –0.3; P=.006), and Canada (–0.7, 95% CI –1.2 to –0.2; P=.004). In Thailand, the ASIR of penile cancer decreased between 1988 and 2012. The corresponding APC was –3.4 (95% CI –4.9 to –1.8; P<.001).

ASIRs of penile cancer in other parts of Europe, apart from France and Switzerland, increased over the 15-year period (1998-2012; Figure 5). These increases were significant in Russia (AAPC 1.1, 95% CI 0.3 to 1.9; P=.01), United Kingdom (1.8, 95% CI 0.8 to 2.8; P=.002), Finland (3.0, 95% CI 0.2 to 5.9; P=.006), Croatia (4.1, 95% CI 0.7 to 7.5; P=.02), Slovakia (4.7, 95% CI 3.2 to 6.2; P<.001), and Cyprus (4.6, 95% CI 0.2 to 9.1; P=.04). In Asia, significant increases were only observed in Israel (9.7, 95% CI 1.6 to 18.5; P=.02), whereas ASIR decreased in India (–3.0, 95% CI –5.2 to –0.8; P=.01) and the Philippines (–5.1, 95% CI –8.0 to –2.2; P=.003).

Figure 4. Age-standardized incidence rates of penile cancer. (A) Trends in penile cancer incidence increasing. (B) Trends in penile cancer incidence decreasing. aRegional data.
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Table 1. International variation in carcinoma of penis incidence rates.
CountriesRegistriesDatabase sourcePeriodAPCaAAPC (%)bAAPC (95% CI)
AustriaNational[European Cancer Information System.   URL: http://eco.iarc.fr/EUREG/AnalysisT.aspx [accessed 2021-03-01] 43]1993-2012
0.9–0.7 to 2.6
AustraliaNational[Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2021.   URL: http://www.aihw.gov.au/acim-books/ [accessed 2022-03-01] 34]1982-2016
0.1–0.5 to 0.6
BrazilGoianiaCI5plusc1993-2012
–0.0–5.8 to 6.1
BulgariaNationalCI5plus1998-2012
1.3–0.5 to 3.1
CanadaAlberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, SaskatchewanCI5plus1983-2012
–0.7d–1.2 to –0.2
ChinaShanghaiCI5plus1988-2012
1.6d0.1 to 3.2
ColombiaCaliCI5plus1983-2012
1.8–0.3 to 4.0
Costa RicaNationalCI5plus1982-2011
0.2–1.1 to 1.6
CroatiaNational[Croatian Institute of Public Health.   URL: https:/​/www.​hzjz.hr/​sluzba-epidemiologija-prevencija-nezaraznih-bolesti/​publikacije-odjel-za-maligne-bolesti/​ [accessed 2021-03-01] 44]1988-2017
3.6d2.2 to 5.0
CyprusNationalCI5plus1998-2012
4.6d0.2 to 9.1
Czech RepublicNational[Epidemiology of Malignant Tumours in the Czech Republic.   URL: http://www.svod.cz/?sec=aktuality&lang=en# [accessed 2021-03-01] 45]1977-2018
2.0d1.6 to 2.4
DenmarkNationalNORDCANe database1953-2016
0.1–0.1 to 0.4
EcuadorQuitoCI5plus1991-2011
–1.3–6.6 to 4.4
EstoniaNationalCI5plus1983-2012
2.2d0.4 to 4.0
FinlandNationalNORDCAN database1953-1982–1.9d
–3.1 to –0.7
NORDCAN database1982-20151.7d
0.7 to 2.7
NORDCAN database1953-2015
0.0–0.4 to 0.5
FranceBas-Rhin, Calvados, Doubs, IsereCI5plus1979-2012
–0.5–1.5 to 0.5
GermanySaarlandCI5plus1973-2012
0.9–0.9 to 2.7
IndiaChennaiCI5plus1983-2012
–2.5d–3.4 to –1.6
IrelandNationalCI5plus1994-2012
–0.1–1.8 to 1.6
IsraelNationalCI5plus1988-2012
7.2d3.4 to 11.1
ItalyBiella, Naples, Parma, Romagna, RagusaCI5plus1986-2012
2d0.7 to 3.2
JapanMiyagi Prefecture, Nagasaki, Osaka PrefectureCI5plus1973-19861.4
–1.9 to 4.8
CI5plus1986-1992–10.6
–22.3 to 2.9
CI5plus1992-20121
–0.7 to 2.8
CI5plus1973-2012
–0.7–3.2 to 1.8
KoreaBusan, Seoul, Gwangju, IncheonCI5plus1993-2012
–3.1–6.1 to 0.1
LithuaniaNationalCI5plus1993-2012
2.6d0.8 to 4.4
The NetherlandsNationalCI5plus1989-2012
1.3d0.5 to 2.1
New ZealandNational[Ministry of Health, New Zealand Goverment.   URL: http://www.health.govt.nz/nz-health-statistics/health-statistics-and-data-sets/cancer-data-and-stats [accessed 2022-03-01] 37]1983-2009–1.3d
–2.6 to –0.1
[Ministry of Health, New Zealand Goverment.   URL: http://www.health.govt.nz/nz-health-statistics/health-statistics-and-data-sets/cancer-data-and-stats [accessed 2022-03-01] 37]2009-20186.1
–0.3 to 12.9
[Ministry of Health, New Zealand Goverment.   URL: http://www.health.govt.nz/nz-health-statistics/health-statistics-and-data-sets/cancer-data-and-stats [accessed 2022-03-01] 37]1983-2018
0.5–1.2 to 2.3
NorwayNationalNORDCAN database1953-2016
0.6d0.2 to 1.0
PhilippinesManilaCI5plus1983-2012
–2.9d–4.5 to –1.2
PolandKielceCI5plus1998-2012
1.7–6.6 to 10.9
RussiaNational[Russian Oncology Portal.   URL: http://www.oncology.ru/service/statistics/malignant_tumors/ [accessed 2022-03-01] 38]1998-2019
1.6d1.1 to 2.0
SlovakiaNationalCI5plus1971-2012
1.4d0.6 to 2.1
SloveniaNationalCI5plus1983-2012
–0.5–1.9 to 0.9
SpainBasque, Tarragona, Granada, GironaCI5plus1988-2012
0.2–0.9 to 1.4
SwedenNationalNORDCAN database1960-1989–0.5
–1.1 to 0.1
NORDCAN database1989-20161.0d
0.3 to 1.6
NORDCAN database1960-2016
0.2–0.1 to 0.4
SwitzerlandGeneva, Neuchatel, VaudCI5plus1988-2012
–0.2–2.3 to 1.9
ThailandChiang MaiCI5plus1983-198813.8
–4.1 to 35.0
CI5plus1988-2012–3.4d
–4.9 to –1.8
CI5plus1983-2012
–0.6–3.6 to 2.5
UgandaKampalaCI5plus1993-20041.2
–7.9 to 11.1
CI5plus2004-2007–46.8
–86.7 to 112.9
CI5plus2007-201253.3d
12.4 to 109
CI5plus1993-2012
2–17.8 to 26.5
United KingdomEast England, East Midlands, London, Northeast, Northern Ireland, Northwest, Scotland, Southeast, Southwest, West Midlands, Yorkshire-HumberCI5plus1995-2012
1.6d0.9 to 2.3
USA BlackSEERf (9 registries): Atlanta, Connecticut, Detroit, Hawaii, Iowa, New Mexico, San Francisco-Oakland, Seattle-Puget Sound, and UtahCI5plus1978-2012
–0.8c–1.4 to –0.3
USA WhiteSEER (9 Registries): Atlanta, Connecticut, Detroit, Hawaii, Iowa, New Mexico, San Francisco-Oakland, Seattle-Puget Sound, and UtahCI5plus1978-2012
–1.9c–3.1 to –0.6

aAPC: annual percentage change.

bAAPC: average annual percentage change.

cCI5plus: Cancer Incidence in Five Continents plus.

dStatistically significant (P<.05).

eNORDCAN: Nordic Cancer Registries.

fSEER: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program.

Figure 5. Average annual percentage change (AAPC) of penile cancer incidence in the recent 15 years (1998-2012). astatistically significant; bregional data (incidence).
View this figure

This study comprehensively describes the global pattern and incidence trend of penile cancer. We found that the higher incidence and mortality of penile cancer remain centered in developing settings, such as Southern Africa, South Asia, and South America. In examining temporal trends in incidence, we found that the ASIRs of penile cancer have increased in 15 of 40 populations, 13 of which were in Europe, and decreased in 5 populations.

Although penile cancer is a rare disease, its incidence varies greatly in different regions of the world. In this study, the highest ASIRs of penile cancer occurred in Southern Africa, especially in Eswatini (ASIR: 7.0 per 100,000) and Uganda (ASIR: 4.6 per 100,000) [Pow-Sang MR, Ferreira U, Pow-Sang JM, Nardi AC, Destefano V. Epidemiology and Natural History of Penile Cancer. Urology 2010 Aug;76(2):S2-S6. [CrossRef]46,Lekoane KMB, Kuupiel D, Mashamba-Thompson TP, Ginindza TG. Evidence on the prevalence, incidence, mortality and trends of human papilloma virus-associated cancers in sub-Saharan Africa: systematic scoping review. BMC Cancer 2019 Jun 11;19(1):563-563. [CrossRef]47]. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and HPV are the major public health problems in Southern Africa [Chikandiwa A, Chimoyi L, Pisa PT, Chersich MF, Muller EE, Michelow P, et al. Prevalence of anogenital HPV infection, related disease and risk factors among HIV-infected men in inner-city Johannesburg, South Africa: baseline findings from a cohort study. BMC Public Health 2017 Jul 4;17(S3):425. [CrossRef]48,Chikandiwa A, Pisa PT, Tamalet C, Muller EE, Michelow P, Chersich MF, et al. Prevalent, persistent anal HPV infection and squamous intraepithelial lesions: Findings from a cohort of men living with HIV in South Africa. PLoS ONE 2019 Dec 5;14(12):e0225571. [CrossRef]49]. The immune system clearly plays an important role in the clearance and persistence of HPV infection and in the development of penile cancer [Gormley RH, Kovarik CL. Human papillomavirus–related genital disease in the immunocompromised host. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 2012 Jun;66(6):867.e1-867.e14. [CrossRef]50]. Immunocompromised patients have a higher risk of malignant transformation of HPV lesions. Men who are HIV positive have a 2- to 3-fold increased risk for penile cancer compared with their negative counterparts [Gormley RH, Kovarik CL. Human papillomavirus–related genital disease in the immunocompromised host. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 2012 Jun;66(6):867.e1-867.e14. [CrossRef]50,Christodoulidou M, Sahdev V, Houssein S, Muneer A. Epidemiology of penile cancer. Current Problems in Cancer 2015 May;39(3):126-136. [CrossRef]51]. A study of heterosexual men from Uganda showed that HPV prevalence in the penis was 90.7% among men who are HIV positive and 60.9% among men who are HIV negative [Tobian AAR, Grabowski MK, Kigozi G, Gravitt PE, Eaton KP, Serwadda D, et al. High-risk human papillomavirus prevalence is associated with HIV infection among heterosexual men in Rakai, Uganda. Sex Transm Infect 2012 May 24;89(2):122-127. [CrossRef]52]. The prevalence of HPV in penis could also be responsible for the high incidence of penile cancer in South American countries, such as Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina [Favorito LA, Nardi AC, Ronalsa M, Zequi SC, Sampaio FJB, Glina S. Epidemiologic study on penile cancer in Brazil. Int. braz j urol 2008 Oct;34(5):587-593. [CrossRef]53-Picconi MA, Eiján AM, Distéfano AL, Pueyo S, Alonio LV, Gorostidi S, et al. Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in penile carcinomas in Argentina: Analysis of primary tumors and lymph nodes. J. Med. Virol 2000 May;61(1):65-69. [CrossRef]56].

We found a significantly increasing trend in the ASIR of penile cancer among most European countries (Italy, the Netherlands, Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Russia) during the study period, especially in Northern Europe (United Kingdom, Lithuania, Norway, Estonia, and Cyprus). Consistent with our results, an increasing trend in the ASIR of penile cancer was previously observed in Norway (1956-2015) [Hansen BT, Orumaa M, Lie AK, Brennhovd B, Nygård M. Trends in incidence, mortality and survival of penile squamous cell carcinoma in Norway 1956-2015. Int. J. Cancer 2017 Dec 15;142(8):1586-1593. [CrossRef]21], Netherlands (1989-2006) [Graafland NM, Verhoeven RH, Coebergh JW, Horenblas S. Incidence trends and survival of penile squamous cell carcinoma in the Netherlands. Int. J. Cancer 2010 Mar 25;128(2):426-432. [CrossRef]57], and the UK (1979-2009) [Arya M, Li R, Pegler K, Sangar V, Kelly JD, Minhas S, et al. Long-term trends in incidence, survival and mortality of primary penile cancer in England. Cancer Causes Control 2013 Oct 8;24(12):2169-2176. [CrossRef]24]. Similar to our findings, population-based studies reported a stable incidence of penile cancer in Australia during 1982-2005 and in France during 1989-2011 [Daubisse-Marliac L, Colonna M, Trétarre B, Defossez G, Molinié F, Jéhannin-Ligier K, et al. Long-term trends in incidence and survival of penile cancer in France. Cancer Epidemiology 2017 Oct;50:125-131. [CrossRef]23,Grulich AE, Jin F, Conway EL, Stein AN, Hocking J. Cancers attributable to human papillomavirus infection. Sex. Health 2010;7(3):244. [CrossRef]58]. Two Finnish studies reported the decreasing trend of penile cancer ASIR in 1955-1977 and 1971-1995, respectively [Pukkala E, Weiderpass E. Socio-economic differences in incidence rates of cancers of the male genital organs in Finland, 1971-95. Int. J. Cancer 2002 Nov 22;102(6):643-648. [CrossRef]59,Maiche AG. Epidemiological aspects of cancer of the penis in Finland. European Journal of Cancer Prevention 1992;1(2):153-158. [CrossRef]60]. Moreover, the significantly increasing trend in the ASIR of penile cancer in Finland since 1998 has been described in this study. Our study found that the other 2 populations with a significant increase in the ASIR of penile cancer were China and Israel, which is consistent with the ASIR trend in China between 2005 and 2015, as described by Lu et al [Lu Y, Li P, Luo G, Liu D, Zou H. Cancer attributable to human papillomavirus infection in China: Burden and trends. Cancer 2020 Jun 02;126(16):3719-3732. [CrossRef]61].

There are many reasons for the increasing trend in the ASIR of penile cancer observed in the aforesaid countries. Increased exposure of the population to HPV and decreasing rates of circumcision in children may play an important role. Childhood circumcision has a strong protective effect against penile cancer [Thomas A, Necchi A, Muneer A, Tobias-Machado M, Tran ATH, Van Rompuy A, et al. Penile cancer. Nat Rev Dis Primers 2021 Feb 11;7(1):11-11. [CrossRef]4]. In the United Kingdom, the proportion of boys circumcised fell from 35% in the early 1930s to 6.5% by the mid-1980s; however, circumcision became much less popular after the mid-1940s [Sewell J, Ranasinghe W, De Silva D, Ayres B, Ranasinghe T, Hounsome L, et al. Trends in penile cancer: a comparative study between Australia, England and Wales, and the US. SpringerPlus 2015 Aug 14;4(1):420. [CrossRef]62]. The populations with an increasing trend of ASIR for penile cancer had lower rates of circumcision, except for Israel [Morris BJ, Wamai RG, Henebeng EB, Tobian AAR, Klausner JD, Banerjee J, et al. Erratum to: Estimation of country-specific and global prevalence of male circumcision. Popul Health Metrics 2016 Apr 4;14(1):4. [CrossRef]63]. The incidence is negligible in Israel owing to the practice of religious neonatal circumcision. However, not all increasing trends can be explained by falling rates of childhood circumcision. In recent decades, there have been more immigrants from Muslim countries to European countries such as Russia, France, Norway, the Netherlands, and UK, and therefore, the number of men undergoing circumcision in some countries may rise. Smoking rates decreased substantially between 1970 and 2009 across Europe, which is unlikely to account for the increasing trends in ASIR of penile cancer [Marcon A, Pesce G, Calciano L, Bellisario V, Dharmage SC, Garcia-Aymerich J, et al. Trends in smoking initiation in Europe over 40 years: A retrospective cohort study. PLoS ONE 2018 Aug 22;13(8):e0201881. [CrossRef]64]. The increase in HPV prevalence may explain why the incidence of some cancers that are attributed to high-risk HPV infections, such as anal cancer, cervical cancer, and oropharyngeal cancer, have risen [Alemany L, Saunier M, Alvarado-Cabrero I, Quirós B, Salmeron J, Shin H, et al. Human papillomavirus DNA prevalence and type distribution in anal carcinomas worldwide. Int. J. Cancer 2014 May 30;136(1):98-107. [CrossRef]65-Braakhuis BJM, Leemans CR, Visser O. Incidence and survival trends of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in the Netherlands between 1989 and 2011. Oral Oncol 2014 Jul;50(7):670-675 [FREE Full text] [CrossRef] [Medline]67]. Several studies have reported a strong association between HPV and a higher rate of partner change [Christodoulidou M, Sahdev V, Houssein S, Muneer A. Epidemiology of penile cancer. Current Problems in Cancer 2015 May;39(3):126-136. [CrossRef]51,Maden C, Sherman KJ, Beckmann AM, Hislop TG, Teh C, Ashley RL, et al. History of Circumcision, Medical Conditions, and Sexual Activity and Risk of Penile Cancer. JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1993 Jan 06;85(1):19-24. [CrossRef]68]. The significantly higher risk of HPV detection is associated with a younger age at first sexual intercourse and an increase in the number of lifelong female sexual partners. Both of these factors have changed in higher-income countries [Bajos N, Bozon M, Beltzer N, Laborde C, Andro A, Ferrand M, et al. Changes in sexual behaviours: from secular trends to public health policies. AIDS 2010 May 15;24(8):1185-1191. [CrossRef] [Medline]69,Mercer CH, Tanton C, Prah P, Erens B, Sonnenberg P, Clifton S, et al. Changes in sexual attitudes and lifestyles in Britain through the life course and over time: findings from the National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal). Lancet 2013 Nov 30;382(9907):1781-1794 [FREE Full text] [CrossRef] [Medline]70]. In the past 40 years, China’s opening to the world has brought about economic recovery, but it has also led to changes in sexual behavior, which is reflected in the increase in the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases and changes in the pattern of HIV transmission [Wu Z, Chen J, Scott SR, McGoogan JM. History of the HIV Epidemic in China. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep 2019 Nov 26;16(6):458-466. [CrossRef]71,Gil VE, Wang MS, Anderson AF, Lin GM, Wu ZO. Prostitutes, prostitution and STD/HIV transmission in Mainland China. Social Science & Medicine 1996 Jan;42(1):141-152. [CrossRef]72].

We found that ASIR decreased in Brazil, Canada, the United States, and most Asian countries, including India, Japan, Korea, Philippines, and Thailand. Although male HPV vaccines are available in Brazil, the United States, and Canada, vaccination would not have had sufficient time to influence the rates of penile cancer in these countries. The major determinant of male circumcision in India is religion: Muslims practice male circumcision for cultural reasons, whereas the predominantly Hindu population does not. This hinders the national promotion of circumcision and is linked to the lower popularity of circumcision [Sinha A, Chandhiok N, Sahay S, Deb S, Bharat S, Gupta A, et al. Male circumcision for HIV prevention in India: emerging viewpoints and practices of health care providers. AIDS Care 2015 May 22;27(9):1196-1198. [CrossRef]73]. The improvement of personal hygiene might be responsible for the decrease in the incidence of penile cancer in some developing countries, which tend to have a large disease burden. Studies have shown that penile cancer cases in Brazil and India were mainly concentrated in areas that have the lowest HDI [Coelho RWP, Pinho JD, Moreno JS, Garbis DVEO, do Nascimento AMT, Larges JS, et al. Penile cancer in Maranhão, Northeast Brazil: the highest incidence globally? BMC Urol 2018 May 29;18(1):29. [CrossRef]74,Nandakumar A, Gupta PC, Gangadharan P, Visweswara RN, Parkin DM. Geographic pathology revisited: Development of an atlas of cancer in India. Int. J. Cancer 2005 Sep 20;116(5):740-754. [CrossRef]75]. Consistent with the study of Goodman et al [Goodman MT, Hernandez BY, Shvetsov YB. Demographic and pathologic differences in the incidence of invasive penile cancer in the United States, 1995-2003. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007 Sep;16(9):1833-1839. [CrossRef] [Medline]76], the decreasing trends in the ASIR of penile cancer were observed in the United States, in both Whites and Blacks, which can be explained by the increasing rate of circumcision. A national probability sample of 1410 American men aged 18-59 years suggested a steady increase in the prevalence of circumcision from a low of 31% (1932) to 85% (1965) [Laumann EO, Masi CM, Zuckerman EW. Circumcision in the United States. Prevalence, prophylactic effects, and sexual practice. JAMA 1997 Apr 02;277(13):1052-1057. [Medline]77]. The prevalence of circumcision in the ethnic groups mentioned in this survey was negatively correlated with the incidence of penile cancer found in our analysis: Whites (81%) have a much higher circumcision rate than Blacks (65%).

The incidence trend of penile cancer observed in this study is similar to other long-lag HPV-related cancers, such as vulvar cancer and anal cancer [Bray F, Laversanne M, Weiderpass E, Arbyn M. Geographic and temporal variations in the incidence of vulvar and vaginal cancers. Int. J. Cancer 2020 Jul 06;147(10):2764-2771. [CrossRef]78,Islami F, Ferlay J, Lortet-Tieulent J, Bray F, Jemal A. International trends in anal cancer incidence rates. Int. J. Epidemiol 2016 Oct 27:dyw276. [CrossRef]79]. The incidence trend of the other 2 cancers may not be directly comparable with penile cancer due to the different attributable risks. However, the increasing trend in some high-income countries is consistent, such as UK, Italy, and the Netherlands [Bray F, Laversanne M, Weiderpass E, Arbyn M. Geographic and temporal variations in the incidence of vulvar and vaginal cancers. Int. J. Cancer 2020 Jul 06;147(10):2764-2771. [CrossRef]78,Islami F, Ferlay J, Lortet-Tieulent J, Bray F, Jemal A. International trends in anal cancer incidence rates. Int. J. Epidemiol 2016 Oct 27:dyw276. [CrossRef]79]. Currently, routine HPV vaccination of boys and men is implemented in several countries, such as Australia, Canada, the United States, and Austria [Stanley M. HPV vaccination in boys and men. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2014;10(7):2109-2111 [FREE Full text] [CrossRef] [Medline]80]. Vaccination of boys and men may further reduce the incidence of penile cancer, anal cancer, and head and neck cancer; additionally, it may reduce the incidence of cervical cancer and its precursors by herd protection [Schmeler KM, Sturgis EM. Expanding the benefits of HPV vaccination to boys and men. Lancet 2016 Apr 30;387(10030):1798-1799. [CrossRef] [Medline]81]. Expanding the benefits of HPV vaccination to boys and men in countries with a high burden of HPV infection should be evaluated as soon as possible.

The results in our study are enhanced by using 3 data sources (GLOBOCAN, CI5plus, and NORDCAN) that include the most recent data possible. Nonetheless, several limitations should be noted for this study. First, the estimates of incidence and mortality of penile cancer were obtained from GLOBOCAN, which is based on the best available data; however, in countries where the estimations are based on potentially biased, insufficient, and proxy data, the estimates should be interpreted with caution. Second, although the data for incidence trend analysis were extracted from a high-quality database (CI5plus), some regional data may not be representative of the entire country. Third, the analysis of data from several countries was based on small numbers, subject to substantial random variation, because of the rarity of the disease. Because of insufficient statistical power, we were unable to detect significant trends in smaller populations. Fourth, we were not able to describe trends in incidence by histological subtype or morphologic variant, nor perform age-period-cohort analysis in terms of risk factors associated with penile cancer due to data unavailability. This study could not demonstrate causality in the ASIR trend of penile cancer. Notwithstanding these weaknesses, these data are the largest currently available and allow comparisons across countries because of the uniform approach applied.

Further research is, however, needed to explain the observed regional differences. As a large proportion of penile cancer is attributable to HPV, the efficacy of HPV vaccines in high-risk groups should be assessed as soon as possible. Future research should also continue to explore the association of risk factors with prognosis in patients with penile cancer and to follow the evolution of incidence and survival of this cancer.

In conclusion, this study provides a comprehensive update on the global patterns and trends in the incidence of penile cancer. While the higher incidence and mortality of penile cancer remain in some developing countries, these have significantly increased in most European populations studied, but have also decreased in a few countries. Although there are many causes of penile cancer, HPV infection, poor penile hygiene, and lack of circumcision may play important roles. Improving penile hygiene and promoting the widespread use of male HPV vaccines should be part of prevention programs for penile cancer in the future.

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge all cancer registries and their staff who have contributed in sharing their data needed for this study. We thank Qianglin Fang, Chongguang Yang, Yawen Jiang, Siyang Liu, Huicui Meng, Jinqiu Yuan, and Yiqiang Zhan for their comments during the preparation of this manuscript. This study was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China Excellent Young Scientists Fund (82022064), Natural Science Foundation of China International/Regional Research Collaboration Project (72061137001), Natural Science Foundation of China Young Scientist Fund (81703278), the National Science and Technology Major Project of China (2018ZX10721102), the Sanming Project of Medicine in Shenzhen (SZSM201811071), the High Level Project of Medicine in Longhua, Shenzhen (HLPM201907020105), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2020YFC0840900), the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission Basic Research Program (JCYJ20190807155409373), Special Support Plan for High-Level Talents of Guangdong Province (2019TQ05Y230), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (58000-31620005). All funding parties did not have any role in the design of the study or in the explanation of the data.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, HZ, upon reasonable request.

Conflicts of Interest

CKF owns shares in CSL Biotherapies. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest related to this work.

Multimedia Appendix 1

Estimated new cases number and age-standardized incidence rates for penile cancer.

DOCX File , 32 KB

Multimedia Appendix 2

Estimated death cases number and age-standardized mortality rates for penile cancer.

DOCX File , 30 KB

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AAPC: average annual percentage change
APC: annual percentage change
ASIR: age-standardized incidence rate
ASMR: age-standardized mortality rate
CI5: Cancer Incidence in Five Continents
GLOBOCAN: Global Cancer Registries
HDI: Human Development Index
HIV: human immunodeficiency virus
HPV: human papillomavirus
IARC: International Agency for Research on Cancer
LOWESS: locally weighted regression
NORDCAN: Nordic Cancer Registries
SEER: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program


Edited by G Eysenbach, H Bradley; submitted 11.11.21; peer-reviewed by S Pesälä, H Akram; comments to author 24.02.22; revised version received 01.03.22; accepted 26.05.22; published 06.07.22

Copyright

©Leiwen Fu, Tian Tian, Kai Yao, Xiang-Feng Chen, Ganfeng Luo, Yanxiao Gao, Yi-Fan Lin, Bingyi Wang, Yinghui Sun, Weiran Zheng, Peiyang Li, Yuewei Zhan, Christopher K Fairley, Andrew Grulich, Huachun Zou. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (https://publichealth.jmir.org), 06.07.2022.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://publichealth.jmir.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.


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