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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Peri-anal warts are a serious condition – with multiple treatment options.  There is a significant risk of developing anal cancer if these are not treated.  In fact, this risk may be greater than the risk of developing cervical cancer (which is what PAP smears check for.)  Though we typically do not test for the presence of HPV on the penis, it is very important to check for HPV in and around the anus in patients at risk (ie: those who have had anal sex).

Since it is difficult to examine yourself in this area, it is most important for you to get examined by a physician if you feel any growth, bump, roughness, or experience any bleeding from the area.

As a parent of a school-age daughter, I haven’t decided what to think about the new cervical cancer vaccine. That’s why I was interested to learn the shot may soon be given to boys primarily to benefit girls.

Merck’s Gardasil vaccine is approved for use in girls and women, ages 9 to 26, to protect them against the human papillomavirus, or H.P.V., which causes cervical cancer. Girls can be vaccinated when they are as young as 9, although it’s recommended for 11- and 12-year-olds, before they are sexually active.

But as my colleague Jan Hoffman reported yesterday in the Sunday Style section of The Times, the vaccine could be approved by 2009 for boys as well. Although Gardasil also protects against genital warts, which are not life-threatening, the primary reason to extend approval to boys would be to prevent them from transmitting the virus to girls, thereby slowing the rates of cervical cancer. The concept is called “herd immunity.”

And the story raises the difficult question: Will parents of sons consent to a three-shot regimen that has been marketed as benefiting girls?

The story talks to parents who have mixed feelings about the idea, questioning whether they would subject their boys to a vaccine that ultimately wouldn’t benefit their son’s health. What would you do? Would you give your son a shot to lower a woman’s risk for contracting cervical cancer? Hypothetically, would you give your daughter a shot that could lower a man’s risk for prostate cancer?

source: NY Times

Venereal warts are very contagious, most often spread by sexual intercourse. It is believed that two out of three individuals that have sexual contact with a partner with condyloma will get lesions within 3 months. If your sexual partner(s) is known to have venereal warts, protective measures need to be taken by the use of condoms until both you and your partner are free of warts