Human papillomavirus, gene variation and protein expression as prognostic markers for metastasizing penile cancer

Cancer affects men and women in all ages and mortality is strongly connected to spread of tumor cells to more organs. Infections, such as human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, can be cause of cancer development in cervix, vulva and penile tumours. 

Penile tumours often metastasize to lymph node groins and known risk factors include grade and histology while HPV and genetic alterations as prognostic markers are less investigated. If we can identify men with low risk for developing metastatic spread, they could be treated with conservative organ surgery.

The aim of this study is to investigate if HPV, immunohistochemistry expression or genetic variation can be used as prognostic markers for individual treatment.