Surgical treatment of carcinoma of the clitoris

Thirty-eight consecutive patients were treated with either vulvectomy (14) or in combination with groin dissection (24) according to the same treatment protocol. The crude 5-year survival was 50% and the corrected 5-year survival was 66%. Three patients died postoperatively. Endophytic tumor, poor degree of differentiation, and involvement of lymph nodes resulted in higher mortalities. No patient with involvement of deep inguinal or pelvic nodes could be cured. The study concludes that invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the clitoris should be treated, in the same was as the same tumor in other areas of the vulva, with radical surgery.