Penile cancer awareness and knowledge among adult patients in an ambulatory urology clinic.

Penile cancer (PeCa) is a rare urologic malignancy in the United States, and public awareness remains low. In this brief report, we design and execute a survey to evaluate knowledge and awareness of PeCa focusing on general PeCa knowledge, treatment options, and willingness to recommend a preventative intervention. Study participants were recruited with a study flyer from the waiting room of two Los Angeles community-based urology clinics. All patients were English-speaking and over 18 years old. Study recruitment took place from October 2021 to June 2022 and 83 participants were included. The majority of respondents were men (90%) and white (87%), with a mean age 63 years. Ninety-eight percent of respondents reported either knowing "nothing" or "a little" about PeCa; 69% of respondents did not know a person could get cancer on the penis. Knowledge of risk factors for PeCa was particularly poor, with respect to phimosis (5% correctly identified this as a risk factor), balanitis (28%), and human papilloma virus (HPV) (44%). The majority of respondents, however, reported that they would recommend administration of an HPV vaccine for the prevention of PeCa (89%) once informed of HPV as a risk factor. Our findings underscore the lack of knowledge and awareness of PeCa, which may contribute to future delays in care.