Vulvar carcinoma in pregnant women aged less than 40 years: case report

Invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva is primarily a disease of postmenopausal women and thus is rarely associated with pregnancy.

We have reported on a young woman under 40 years old with vulvar carcinoma, which occurred during the pregnancy but optimal treatment was delayed to the postpartum period. This 37-year-old woman was diagnosed with 3x3 cm vulvar lesion, 2 weeks after cesarean section, subsequent biopsy revealed squamous cell carcinoma. She had a history of an ulcer on her left labia minor at the third month of the pregnancy. She was treated by a modified radical vulvectomy and bilateral groin lymphadenectomy. She did not receive any additional treatments. Now after two years, she has had no recurrence of the disease.

This case emphasizes on the need to consider malignancy as a differential diagnosis in vulvar lesions of pregnant young women.