Falling incidence of penis cancer in an uncircumcised population (Denmark 1943-90)

Abstract

Boys circumcised neonatally are effectively protected against penis cancer.1 Using data from the Danish Cancer Registry we investigated the long term trends in the incidence of penis cancer in a virtually uncircumcised population. Penis cancers diagnosed in Denmark during 1943-90 and notified to the cancer registry were evaluated manually. We excluded scrotal and epididymal cancers and 39 non-epidermoid penis cancers (20 basal cell carcinomas, nine melanomas, and 10 others). World standardised incidence rates were calculated and linear regression applied to evaluate the temporal changes in incidence (five year data) and age distribution. We evaluated the impact of marital status in a case control design using patients with colon and stomach cancers diagnosed in the same period as controls. The odds ratios of never having married were calculated using logistic regression. The material comprised 1523 epidermoid penis cancers (including 207 …