Cancer of the penis is an uncommon cancer in Britain with only about 500 new cases diagnosed each year. In some other parts of the world, however, such as South East Asia, China and parts of Africa it is much commoner.

Further studies the epidemiology of cancer of the penis show that it is virtually unknown in those societies that carry out ritual circumcision of their male children.

By contrast it is also known that there is a greater risk of cancer of the penis developing in men who have a condition called phimosis. This is where the foreskin, covering the tip, or glans, of the penis, is particularly tight and difficult to pull back fully. Phimosis is seen in between a quarter to a half of all men who develop cancer of the penis.

These two facts have led to the suggestion that as circumcision makes cleaning of the glans very easy and phimosis makes it very difficult then penile hygiene, or rather the lack of it, may be a factor in the development of some cancers of the penis.