Neoadjuvant Chemo Adds Significant Treatment Benefit in Penile Cancer

In a recent study, median overall survival with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, lymphadenectomy was 37.0 months

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, March 7, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) with lymphadenectomy for locally advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) is well tolerated and improves outcomes, according to a study published online Feb. 16 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Kyle M. Rose, M.D., from the Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, and colleagues investigated the efficacy and safety of NAC for locally advanced PSCC. The analysis included 209 patients (7 percent with stage II disease, 48 percent with stage III, and 45 percent with stage IV).

The researchers reported that grade 2 treatment-related adverse events occurred in 17 percent of patients, with no treatment-related mortality. Nearly all participants (97 percent) completed planned consolidative lymphadenectomy. More than half of patients died (52.7 percent), with a median overall survival (OS) of 37.0 months and median progression-free survival of 26.0 months. The objective response rate was 57.2 percent, with 43.2 percent of participants having partial response and 13.9 percent having a complete response. A significantly longer median OS (73.0 versus 17.0 months) was seen among patients who had objective response to NAC versus those who did not. Overall, the lymph node pathologic complete response rate was 24.8 percent.

“These results underscore the importance of a multimodal approach in addressing this challenging disease and offer hope for improved patient outcomes,” coauthor Philippe Spiess, M.D., from the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, said in a statement.

One author disclosed ties to industry.

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