Lymphatic and Vascular Embolizations AreIndependent Predictive Variables of Inguinal LymphNode Involvement in Patients with Squamous CellCarcinoma of the Penis

The objective of the current study was to identify independent clinical and pathologic variables that were predictive of lymph node involvement in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the penis in a multicenter series with the intent to select patients who were suitable to undergo immediate inguinal lymphadenectomy. METHODS: Data were analyzed from 175 patients who underwent surgery for penile carcinoma in 11 urologic centers participating in the Gruppo Uro-Oncologico del Nord-Est (Northeast Uro-Oncological Group) Penile Cancer Data Base. Pathologically positive lymph nodes were defined as the presence of histologically confirmed lymph node metastasis in patients who underwent either immediate or delayed inguinal and/or pelvic lymphadenectomy. Patients who had clinically positive lymph nodes with cytologically positive fine-needle aspiration results and who had not undergone lymphadenectomy were censored. RESULTS: Overall, lymph-node involvement was observed in 71 of 175 patients (