Genital Cancers in Women: Vulvar Cancer

Vulvar cancer is uncommon, accounting for 0.3% of all new US cancer diagnoses. The majority of cases are squamous cell carcinoma. Malignant melanoma is the second most common type. Other cases are related to chronic inflammatory skin disorders such as lichen sclerosus. Vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) is a precursor to squamous cell vulvar cancer. It may be the usual type associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, or the differentiated type often associated with chronic skin disorders. Risk factors for VIN are HPV infection, cigarette smoking, chronic skin disorders, and immunosuppression. Symptoms of vulvar cancer include pruritus, bleeding, skin color change, skin lesions, and dysuria. VIN and vulvar cancer are diagnosed by skin biopsy. Treatment of VIN includes wide local excision, via surgical removal or with laser or ultrasonic surgical aspiration procedures. Medical therapy with imiquimod also may be used. Prognosis is good with early detection; the 5-year survival rate for stage I cancer is greater than 85%. Advanced disease has a poor prognosis, with a 5-year survival rate in stage IV disease as low as 5%. Although screening for vulvar cancer is not recommended, clinicians should evaluate and biopsy any suspicious vulvar lesions. Current efforts at prevention are aimed at HPV vaccination.