[Epithelial changes associated with invasive epidermoid carcinoma of the vulva]

The frequency and meaning of epithelial alterations adjacent to a vulvar invasive carcinoma are examined. In the period from 1986 to 1989, 37 cases of vulvar invasive carcinoma were observed in the Bergamo Hospital (Anatomopathology Institute of Bergamo) in women aged between 54-95 years operated for vulvectomy. The vulvar epithelium adjacent to the invasive carcinoma was studied in order to determine the frequency and the type of associated lesions. Two lesions seem to be meaningfully correlated to the vulvar carcinoma: the lichen sclerosus in 59% of cases and the VIN3 of differentiated type in 35%. The identification of these epithelial lesions can serve to select the cases with increased risk to develop invasive carcinoma.