Radiation therapy can be tried in younger men and those who refuse surgery, but rates of recurrence and urethral strictures are high. If radiation fails, surgery can usually be accomplished with excellent results.
Five-Year Survival 88 percent
Stage III
These cancers have spread to inguinal or pelvic lymph nodes , and cure rates are poor.
Standard Treatment Stage III disease is suspected when there is swelling of the inguinal lymph nodes, but this swelling can be misleading. Sometimes the lymph nodes are enlarged not because of cancer but because of an infection or inflammation . To find out if this is the case, the tumor is first treated in the same way as Stage II tumors.
If the nodes are involved with infection or inflammation, the swelling will usually subside four to six weeks after the cancer is surgically removed from the penis. The lymph nodes will no longer be felt through the skin.
If the lymph nodes can still be felt through the skin four to six weeks after surgery, some of the inguinal lymph nodes can be biopsied and examined. If they are found to contain cancer, all of the nodes of the groin and pelvis are removed.
