Researchers in Zambia studied 40 men with invasive penile cancer who needed surgery. Most of the patients (87.5%) also had HIV. The study looked at whether surgically removing groin lymph nodes that felt swollen or abnormal was an accurate way to see if the cancer had spread there.
They found that among the 32 patients who had lymph nodes that felt abnormal, only 12 (about 37.5%) actually had cancer cells confirmed in those nodes after surgery. This means that in over 60% of these cases, the swollen nodes were not due to cancer spread. The study did not report on surgical complications or safety outcomes.
This was a small, observational study at a single hospital, so the findings are preliminary. The high rate of HIV in the group may influence lymph node health. The authors suggest that less invasive biopsy methods should be explored to avoid unnecessary surgery when possible. For now, this study highlights that in this specific setting, many swollen lymph nodes in penile cancer patients may not contain cancer.