Geographical Variation of Carcinoma of the Penis in Uganda

A series of 458 cases of carcinoma of the penis occurring in Ugandan Africans is analysed. These were derived from the records of a country-wide biopsy service over the 5-year period 1964-68. Where circumcision is practised the incidence of this tumour is very low. However, the geographical variation also showed marked differences in the uncircumcised, regardless of tribal antecedents and sometimes over quite small distances. It is suggested, therefore, that in Uganda other aetiological factors apart from circumcision are operative and that these factors vary with geographical location rather than with tribal affiliation.