The large variations in penile cancer rates throughout the world strongly suggest that penile cancer is a preventable disease. The best way to reduce the risk of penile cancer is to avoid known risk factors whenever possible (see the section, "What are the risk factors for penile cancer?").

In the past, circumcision has been suggested as a way to prevent penile cancer. This was based on studies that reported much lower penile cancer rates among circumcised men than among uncircumcised men. But most researchers now believe those studies were flawed because they failed to consider other risk factors, such as smoking, personal hygiene, and the number of sexual partners.

Most public health researchers believe that the risk of penile cancer is low among uncircumcised men without known risk factors living in the United States. Most experts agree that circumcision should not be recommended solely as a way to prevent penile cancer.

Genital hygiene

Perhaps the most important factor in preventing penile cancer in uncircumcised men is good genital hygiene. Uncircumcised men need to retract the foreskin and clean the entire penis. If the foreskin is constricted and difficult to retract, a doctor may be able to cut the skin through a procedure called a dorsal slit to make retraction easier.

Avoiding HPV infection

All men should do what they can to avoid infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV). In addition to decreasing penile cancer risk, this could have an even bigger impact on the risk of cervical cancer in female partners.

Delaying sex until you are older can help you avoid HPV infection. It also helps to limit your number of sexual partners and avoid having sex with someone who has had many other sexual partners.

Using condoms ("rubbers") can lower the chance of HPV infection, but they cannot completely prevent infection. This is because HPV can be passed from one person to another by skin-to-skin contact with an HPV-infected area of the body that is not covered by a condom -- like the skin in the genital or anal area. Still, it is important to use condoms to help protect against AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases that are passed on through some body fluids.

Infection with HPV can be present for years without any symptoms; so the absence of visible warts cannot be used to tell if someone has HPV. Even when someone doesn't have warts (or any other symptom), he (or she) can still be infected with HPV and pass the virus to somebody else.

Vaccines have been developed to help prevent infection with some types of HPV. Gardasil^® protects against HPV types 6 and 11, which can cause genital warts, and types 16 and 18, which cause some types of cancer. It is currently approved for use in young females and males. Another vaccine, Cervarix^®, protects against HPV types 16 and 18 and is approved for use only in young females. The vaccines work best if given before the person starts having sex (and is exposed to HPV). The hope is that HPV vaccines may eventually help reduce the risk of cancers linked to HPV, including penile cancers.

Not smoking

Smoking also increases penile cancer risk. It can also cause other more common cancers, as well as serious conditions such as heart disease and stroke. Quitting smoking or never starting in the first place is a good way to reduce your risk of many diseases, including penile cancer.

Some men with penile cancer have no known risk factors, so it is not possible to completely prevent this disease.

Last Medical Review: 10/07/2009
Last Revised: 10/07/2009