Postmenopausal Vaginal and Cervical Cancer Risk Related to In Utero Diethylstilbestrol Exposure

Women exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES) in utero have an increased risk of clear cell adenocarcinoma of the lower genital tract, requiring lifelong cervical and vaginal cancer screening. We examined the incidence of DES-related cancers in postmenopausal women 50 years and older.

We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients 50 years and older exposed to DES in utero who received care at our institution. Patients were identified using billing codes and/or searching through the electronic record for the word DES. With this 2-pronged approach, we reviewed a total of 503 charts with confirmed DES exposure to identify gynecologic cancer occurrence.

Within the 503 selected charts, 28 cases of gynecologic cancer occurrence were identified. Ten patients had cervical cancer and one patient had vaginal cancer. Only 1 woman of 503 developed a DES-related cervical or vaginal malignancy after age 50 years. No patients were diagnosed with cervical or vaginal cancer after age 65 years.

Diethylstilbestrol-related malignancies are rare in those older than 50 years. Current cervical cancer screening guidelines recommend cessation of screening in an average risk, adequately screened patient at age 65 years, but patients exposed to DES have historically received lifelong screening. However, we found no cases of cervical or vaginal cancer related to DES after age 65 years, suggesting that screening recommendations could be changed for these patients to align with current screening guidelines.