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Penile cancer remains an aggressive disease with a poor prognosis at advanced stages. Another specific problem of any rare disease is that the population is unaware of prevention strategies and higher chances of cure through early diagnosis. In penile carcinogenesis, two main pathways are known. In addition to a non-human papillomavirus (HPV) -related pathway (mainly caused by phimosis and chronic inflammation), up to 50% of penile carcinomas are HPV-related (high-risk types of HPV ). Prophylactic vaccination against HPV has proven effective against cervical cancer; its B-cell mediated immunity against HPV capsid proteins probably provides lifetime protection against some HPV subtypes covered by the vaccine. Therefore, a resulting HPV vaccination program for children of both sexes could significantly reduce the incidence of cervical cancer but also the partial prevention of penile cancer. However, for the treatment of existing intracellular HPV infections, specific immunity of T antigens is required. Appropriate therapeutic vaccines against HPV are under study. This article provides an overview of the different levels of prevention of HPV-related penile cancer.
European focus on urology. September 24, 2018 [Epub ahead of print]
Boris Schlenker, Peter Schneede
Department of Urology, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Munich, Germany. Email address: Department of Urology, Memmingen Hospital, Memmingen, Germany.
PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30262198
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