as a urologist i see a lot of patient with growths or bumps on the penis

some patients ask do I have cancer? do I need a biopsy? 

Most patients with a classic wart or HPV do not need a biopsy, patient who are uncircumcised or recurrent growths may consider a biopsy.

Freezing a wart with liquid nitrogen, cauterization, or topical treatments like aldara (imiquimod topical cream)

if you have a wart get to a doctor and have it treated.  A biopsy is not a  bad idea but no always necessary

thanks for all of stories and questions I hope this site can help you fight your personal war on warts. 

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Genital infection with low-risk types of HPV is associated with genital warts in men. Infection with high-risk types of HPV is associated with a proportion of preinvasive squamous lesions of the penis (penile intraepithelial neoplasia or PIN) and with penile cancer, as well as with preinvasive squamous lesions of the anus (anal intraepithelial neoplasia or AIN) and with anal cancer.

Invasive penile cancer is quite uncommon, especially in circumcised men.

In 2002, the age-adjusted incidence rate for penile cancer in the U.S. was 0.8 per 100,000 men (985 new cases). The age-adjusted incidence rate for anal cancer was 1.2 per 100,000 men (1,453 new cases). However, the risk of anal cancer for MSM is significantly higher.

Because of the increased incidence of anal cancer in MSM, especially HIV-infected MSM, some specialists recommend screening for AIN by cytology in this population. However, there are limited data on the natural history of AIN, the reliability of screening methods, the safety and response to treatments, and the programmatic considerations that would support this screening approach.

Until more data are generated on screening for AIN, this screening approach is not recommended.

There is currently no FDA-approved HPV DNA test for males, nor is HPV testing of males recommended. There is no clinical utility in testing men for HPV; infection does not indicate increased risk of disease for the man or his partner. While HPV is common in men, HPV-associated cancers are rare.

There are no routine methods for culturing HPV. Serology tests are available for HPV, but these tests are used only in research settings. Many persons with detectable HPV DNA do not have antibodies, so these tests are not a good method to indicate infection with HPV.

While it is possible that vaccination of males with the HPV vaccine may offer direct health benefits to males and indirect health benefits to females, there are currently no efficacy data available to support use of HPV vaccine in males. Efficacy studies in males are ongoing.

Additional information is available on the CDC website at:

http://www.cdc.gov/STD/hpv/hpv-clinicians-brochure.htm

To access treatment guidelines for HPV and genital warts, please review CDC s 2006 STD Treatment Guidelines available online at:

- HPV Infection

http://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment/2006/hpv.htm

- Genital Warts

http://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment/2006/genital-warts.htm