Vulvar Cancer

Vulvar cancer is a sporadic type of cancer which forms in a woman's external genitals, called the vulva. The cancer habitually grows slowly over several years. Firstly, precancerous cells grow on vulvar skin. This is called vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN), or dysplasia. Not all VIN cases turn into cancer, but it is best to treat it early. There are different types of vulvar cancer i.e Squamous cell carcinomas, Adenocarcinoma, Melanoma, Sarcoma, Basal cell carcinoma.

Disease Statistics: Vulvar cancer constitutes about 5% of all gynecological cancers in Norway with 85 new cases in 2015 than compared to 2014. The disease affects primarily elderly women. The average age is 65 years.

Treatment: Depending on the nature and stage of the vulvar cancer, a person may need one type of treatment. The 3 main types of treatment used for patients with vulvar cancer are
•    Surgery can be Laser surgery, Excision, Vulvectomy
•    Radiation therapy
•    Chemotherapy

Research: Researcher study for the ethical and safety reasons, experimental treatments must be tested in the laboratory before they can be tried in patients. Sentinel lymph node mapping, Ultrasound scan of the groin, HPV tests, HPV vaccines, Anti viral creams and gels for VIN, Photodynamic therapy.