The relationship between HPV status and chemoradiotherapy in the locoregional control of penile cancer

Abstract

Background: Penile cancer (PeCa) is a rare, aggressive malignancy often associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV). The practice of a personalized risk-adapted approach is not yet established. This study is to assess the relationship between HPV tumor status and chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in PeCa locoregional control (LRC). Methods: We retrospectively identified patients with HPV status who were diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the penis and treated with surgical resection between 1999 and 2016. The relationship between tumor/treatment characteristics and LRC were analyzed with univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis (UVA and MVA, respectively). Time-to-event outcomes were estimated with Kaplan–Meier curves and compared via log-rank tests. Results: Fifty-one patients were identified. The median follow-up was 36.6 months. Patients were primarily HPV-negative (HPV−) (n = 28, 55%), and pathologic node positive (pN+) (55%). The 2 year LRC rate was 54%. pN+ patients had a significantly lower 2 year LRC (37 vs. 81%, p = 0.002). In the subgroup analysis of pN+ patients (n = 28), there was a LRC benefit associated with the addition of CRT (HR 0.19; 95% CI 0.05–0.70, p = 0.012) and HPV-positive (HPV+) disease (HR 0.18; 95% CI 0.039–0.80, p = 0.024) using MVA. HPV+ patients treated with CRT had improved 2 year LRC compared to HPV− patients (83 vs. 38%, p = 0.038). Conclusions: Adjuvant CRT and HPV+ disease independently predicted for improved LRC in pN+ PeCa. In HPV+ PeCa, the LRC benefit was primarily observed in patients treated with adjuvant CRT. Prospective investigation of HPV+ and CRT is required to further delineate their roles in optimizing PeCa treatment.