Screening for penile cancer

There is no national screening programme for penile cancer in the UK. This is because there isn’t a test that can pick up penile cancer at an early stage.

What is cancer screening?

Screening means testing people for early stages of a disease. This is before they have any symptoms. For screening to be useful the tests:

• need to be reliable at picking up cancers
• overall must do more good than harm to people taking part
• must be something that people are willing to do

Screening tests are not perfect and have some risks. The screening programme should also be good value for money for the NHS.

Why there isn’t a screening programme for penile cancer in the UK

There is no national screening programme because:

• penile cancer is rare, so many people would have unnecessary tests
• the benefits don't outweigh the costs

Talk to your GP if you think you are at increased risk of penile cancer or are worried about symptoms.