Tests for penile cancer

This page tells you about tests for penile cancer (cancer of the penis). There is information about

A quick guide to what's on this page
Visiting your GP
At the hospital
Blood tests
Having a biopsy

Tests for penile cancer

If you suspect you might have cancer of the penis, the first doctor you’re likely to see is your GP. Your GP will examine you and ask you about your symptoms and general health. After your examination, your doctor may refer you to hospital for tests and X-rays, or may ask you to see a specialist. This is usually a urologist, who is a doctor specialising in diseases that affect the urinary system and genital organs.

At the hospital

The specialist will ask you about your medical history and any symptoms that you have. They will also check you over, including examining the lymph nodes (glands) in your groin to see if there are signs of any cancer spread. You might also have some blood tests.

Biopsy

Your doctor may want you to have a biopsy. To do this the doctor takes a small sample of tissue from the affected area of the penis, or fluid and cells from inside a growth on the penis. They send the sample to a lab to be examined. A specialist doctor, called a pathologist, looks at the cells under a microscope to see if they are cancerous. If you do have cancer, the pathologist will also be able to find out what type of cancer it is.

You will usually have your biopsy under anaesthetic, which may be a local or general anaesthetic. If you have a general anaesthetic, you may need to stay in hospital overnight.

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If you suspect you might have cancer of the penis, the first doctor you’re likely to see is your GP. Your GP will ask you

What symptoms you are having
When you get your symptoms
Whether anything you do makes your symptoms better or worse

Your doctor will also examine you and ask questions about your general health. After your examination, your doctor may refer you to hospital for tests and X-rays, or may ask you to see a specialist. This is usually a urologist, who is a doctor specialising in diseases that affect the urinary system and genital organs.

Your specialist might also arrange some tests. These can include blood tests and biopsies.

You might have a full blood count to check the number of cells in your blood and give an idea about your general health. You will also have blood tests to check if your liver and kidneys are working normally.

Your doctor may want you to have a biopsy. To do this they take a small sample of tissue from the affected area of the penis, or fluid and cells from inside a growth on the penis. They then send the sample to a lab to be examined. A specialist doctor, called a pathologist, looks at the cells under a microscope to see if they are cancerous. If you do have cancer, the pathologist will also be able to find out what type of cancer it is.

You will usually have your biopsy under anaesthetic, which might be a local or general anaesthetic. If you have a general anaesthetic, you may need to stay in hospital overnight.

The types of biopsy that you can have include

Incisional or excisional biopsy
Fine needle aspiration

Incisional or excisional biopsy

An incisional biopsy means using a surgical knife (scalpel) to remove a small piece of the abnormal area. An excisional biopsy is the same, but you have the whole of the abnormal area removed. After these types of biopsies, you will need to have some stitches put in where the skin has been cut. The stitches will stay in for about a week. You may have to go back to the hospital to have them removed. Or your doctor may have used soluble stitches, which will dissolve away on their own.

Fine needle aspiration

A fine needle aspiration (FNA) means the doctor puts a fine needle into the growth (tumour) on the penis and sucks a sample of fluid out. The sample will contain cells and the doctor sends the cells and fluid off to the lab. Doctors also use FNA and ultrasound scan to find out whether the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes.