Clinical considerations of penile cutaneous lesions

It is not uncommon for family physicians, dermatologists, and urologists to encounter patients in their practices with penile cutaneous lesions. The differentiation of premalignant lesions from benign dermatosis can be a challenging task due to the rarity of some of these conditions, as well as the overall low incidence of penile neoplasms in industrialized nations.1 A retrospective British study found that one-fifth of patients with penile carcinoma are first referred to specialists other than urology.2 Thus, early investigation is fundamental for the treatment of these lesions, which may have already suffered significant diagnostic delays due to either lack of knowledge for these conditions or patient-related stress/embarrassment from genital malady