Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34889977›Full record

ArticleVirchows Archiv : an international journal of pathology2022

Low level of interobserver concordance in assessing histological subtype and tumor grade in patients with penile cancer may impair patient care.

Luiza Dorofte, Diane Grélaud, Michelangelo Fiorentino, Francesca Giunchi, Costantino Ricci, Tania Franceschini, Mattia Riefolo, Sabina Davidsson, Jessica Carlsson, Gabriella Lillsunde Larsson and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Virchows Archiv : an international journal of pathology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Retrospective Single Center Assessment of Routes to Penile Cancer Diagnosis and the Role of Penile Biopsy.International journal of urology : official journal of the Japanese Urological Association · 2026
    Observational
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  3. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Luiza DorofteDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden. luiza.dorofte@regionorebrolan.se.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1530-5045
Diane GrélaudDepartment of Clinical Genetics and Pathology, Skåne University Hospital and Regional Laboratories, Malmö, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8425-5833
Michelangelo FiorentinoDepartment of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1749-150X
Francesca GiunchiPathology, Istituto Di Ricovero E Cure a Carattere Scientifico, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Policlinico Sant'Orsola-Malpighi, Bologna, Italy.
Costantino RicciDepartment of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7254-4195
Tania FranceschiniPathology Unit, Maggiore Hospital, AUSL Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Mattia RiefoloDepartment of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3673-532X
Sabina DavidssonDepartment of Urology, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2850-6009
Jessica CarlssonDepartment of Urology, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8457-7592
Gabriella Lillsunde LarssonDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9992-266X
Mats G KarlssonDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6881-237X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Differentiation between penile squamous cell carcinoma patients who can benefit from limited organ-sparing surgery and those at significant risk of lymph node metastasis is based on histopathological prognostic factors including histological grade and tumor histological subtype. We examined levels of interobserver and intraobserver agreement in assessment of histological subtype and grade in 207 patients with penile squamous cell carcinoma. The cases were assessed by seven pathologists from three hospitals located in Sweden and Italy. There was poor to moderate concordance in assessing both histological subtype and grade, with Fleiss kappas of 0.25 (range: 0.02-0.48) and 0.23 (range: 0.07-0.55), respectively. When choosing HPV-associated and non-HPV-associated subtypes, interobserver concordance ranged from poor to good, with a Fleiss kappa value of 0.36 (range: 0.02-0.79). A re-review of the slides by two of the pathologists showed very good intraobserver concordance in assessing histological grade and subtype, with Cohen's kappa values of 0.94 and 0.91 for grade and 0.95 and 0.84 for subtype. Low interobserver concordance could lead to undertreatment and overtreatment of many patients with penile cancer, and brings into question the utility of tumor histological subtype and tumor grade in determining patient treatment in pT1 tumors.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, Squamous CellPenile NeoplasmsHumansLymphatic MetastasisMaleObserver VariationPatient CareHistological gradingInterobserver agreementPenile cancerPenile carcinoma subtypes

Identifiers

PMID34889977
PMCPMC9023398

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.