Urethral cancer develops when a tumor forms inside the tube that carries urine out of your body through your prostate gland and penis.
It can spread throughout your body quickly, and doctors often don’t diagnose it until it reaches a later stage.
You may not notice symptoms in the early stages of male urethral cancer.
But symptoms to know can include:
- difficulty urinating, including issues starting a flow or having an interrupted one
- loss of your ability to control when you urinate
- more frequent urination than usual, particularly at night
- discharge or bleeding from your urethra
- blood in urine
- a lump or swelling in your groin, penis, or perineum (the area between your genitals and your anus)
These symptoms don’t necessarily mean you have cancer. They can be symptoms of other conditions.
Still, if you experience any of them, having a doctor check you out is a good idea.
No one particular cause of urethral cancer exists yet. However, several factors can increase your risk, including:
- human papillomavirus (HPV)
- frequent urinary tract infections (UTIs)
- history of bladder cancer
- an uncircumcised penis
If you have any of these, it doesn’t mean you can develop urethral cancer. Similarly, some people can still develop this cancer without any of these risk factors.
No regular screening process for urethral cancer is available because the cancer is
Your doctor may examine your genital area and rectum for anything atypical and ask you for blood or urine samples to check for atypical cells.
Further tests may include:
Surgery is often the main treatment form.
Doctors may remove the tumor alone, depending on the cancer’s location and spread. But sometimes, they may need to remove other body parts, such as your urethra, bladder, or penis.
If this happens, you can have reconstructive surgery as a separate procedure. If you have your urethra or bladder removed, your surgeon can create a new way for your body to store and pass urine throughout it.
Radiation or chemotherapy may be necessary, too, if the cancer’s spread involves other body parts and a doctor can’t remove it surgically.
Doctors tend to use external and internal radiation therapy to treat urethral cancer. External involves a machine sending radiation to the area with cancer. Internal means doctors place a radioactive substance inside your body directly into or near the cancer.
Healthcare professionals can give chemotherapy drugs by mouth or injection so that the drugs reach cancer cells lingering inside your body. They can also insert the drugs directly into an organ or bodily cavity for more targeted therapy.
Experts still need to get concrete statistics on how long people tend to survive after urethral cancer diagnosis because the cancer is rare.
One 2016 study found the 5-year survival rate with primary urethral cancer to be 46% across sexes.
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Early diagnosis is crucial for a better chance of survival with urethral cancer. But everyone’s outlook is different and depends on factors such as the:
- specific area inside your urethra where the cancer formed
- cancer’s spread involving other body parts
- overall health you have
- past diagnoses you’ve had involving this cancer type
Urethral cancer is a rare form of cancer. Doctors may not detect it in its early stages because no visible symptoms may be present. And later diagnosis can affect your overall outlook.
If you notice changes when going to the toilet or lumps or swelling in your genital region, book a doctor’s appointment as soon as possible.
Lauren Sharkey is a U.K.-based journalist and author specializing in women’s issues. When she isn’t trying to discover a way to banish migraines, she can be found uncovering the answers to your lurking health questions. She has also written a book profiling young female activists across the globe and is currently building a community of such resisters. Catch her on Twitter.