Penile cancer after a tick bite: A possible association

Abstract

Penile cancer is a rare cancer in Western countries, but is more common in parts of the developing world. Usually, it is associated with older uncircumcised men who have a long-term phymotic preputium. Here, we report a case of penile cancer in a circumcised patient, occurring 3 months after a tick bite on the head of the penis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report that suggests a possible association between Lyme disease and occurrence of “de novo” penile cancer. Further studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis.