Oncological and Functional Outcomes of Penile Shaft Sparing Surgery for Localised Penile Cancer: A Systematic Review

All penile sparing approaches are oncologically safe and guarantee good functional outcomes; however, more research is needed to draw a definitive conclusion on this topic. Penile shaft sparing (PSS) surgery for localised penile cancer (PeCa) aims to balance oncological and functional outcomes. To summarise the published evidence on different PSS approaches. We performed a systematic review adhering to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. The systematic search was performed on PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus databases up to February 14, 2023. The inclusion criteria encompassed retrospective or prospective studies including patients ≥18 yr of age with localised PeCa treated with different PSS approaches, classified as laser ablation, circumcision, wide local excision, glansectomy with or without split skin graft, glans resurfacing, and mixed technique excision. The risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. A quantitative synthesis was not performed due to anticipated data heterogeneity and a lack of comparative studies. Out of 4343 articles identified, 47 met our inclusion criteria, including 10 847 patients. The year of publication ranged between 1983 and 2021. Nine studies were prospective case series, while the remaining studies were retrospective. No comparative studies were identified. Most of the cases included in these studies were Ta and T1. The oncological outcomes were good for all the approaches, with cancer-specific mortality ranging between 0% and 18%. Sexual and cosmetic outcomes, despite being under-reported, were good for all the approaches, with almost all patients being satisfied with their quality of life after surgery. The Newcastle and Ottawa scale revealed a high or severely high risk of bias in all the included studies. PSS approaches were safe and had good functional outcomes, considering however the overall low quality of the studies on this issue. The perioperative, function, and oncological outcomes of penile shaft sparing approaches are good. However, high-quality studies are needed to determine whether these approaches benefit patients with localised penile cancer.