Progress in penile cancer and prostate cancer screening

This issue of the MEMO journal contains two interesting contributions in the field of uro-genital cancers. Radion Garaz and colleagues from Tuebingen summarize the current literature about a rare but (as men and women can imagine) dramatic type of cancer: penile cancer [2]. As this disease is rare and frequently involves older men with many comorbidities, large randomized trials are not visible on the horizon and most data is from phase II single arm studies or retrospective analyses. Penile cancer represents squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) histology and resembles with some regards SCC of the skin, although risk factors and triggers are different [4]. Keeping this in mind, I want to add and mention a recently presented study (which is not part of the review from Radion Garaz), the phase II EPIC-A trial—the results that were presented at ASCO GU meeting 2025 [3]. Briefly summarized, the addition of the PD-1 inhibitor cemiplimab (a drug currently approved and very effective for SCC and basal cell carcinoma of the skin) [5] to platinum-based chemotherapy resulted in improved outcomes compared with historical data of chemotherapy alone in patients with locally advanced or metastatic penile cancer. In more detail, at 12 weeks, the clinical benefit rate was 62.1% with an objective response rate of 51.7%, with median progression-free survival (PFS) of 6.3 months, and median overall survival (OS) of 15.7 months. This median OS and median PFS appears to be a step forward compared with historical data in the literature on standard-of-care treatment options with chemotherapy only, although we have to keep in mind that the regime in the EPIC-A trial was not randomized against chemotherapy, and the final value of this immune checkpoint inhibitor drug in penile cancer in combination with the current standard of care has to be further evaluated. A second article in this issue, from Conrad Leitsmann from the Urology Department of the Medical University of Graz [1], focuses on prostate cancer screening and detection. The authors made a great attempt to discuss the value of early prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing, individual strategies for risk assessment, and the current standard of using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided biopsy to diagnose prostate cancer. As readers of this journal may know, prevention and early detection is a highly effective way to decrease cancer mortality and, thus, the article of Leitsmann et al. highligths this important topic in prostate cancer. Overall, I hope that our readers will find novel information for their clinical practice to finally improve cancer care for their patients.