[Concomitant chemoradiotherapy in the treatment of vulvar carcinoma]

Vulvar carcinoma belongs between the less frequent gynaecologic malignancies. Despite to the low morbidity its mortality is high. The reason is locally advanced disease at the time of diagnosis. Radical surgery is mutilating for patient. Radiotherapy was not considered as a standard treatment. Recently, due to technical improvement, mega-voltage facilities and knowledge of radiobiology, radiotherapy has become a part of standard treatment modalities. It plays an important role in the curative, adjuvant and palliative treatment. Concomitant chemoradiotherapy has been used since the eighties of the last century to improve results and reduce extent of surgery in locally advanced vulvar carcinomas. Results show that concomitant chemoradiotherapy is a method of choice in the treatment of locally advanced or recurrent disease. Additional studies are necessary to determine the specific categories of patients who would benefit most from concomitant chemoradiotherapy.