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: The number of new cases of vulvar cancer is 2.4 per 100,000 women per year. The number of deaths was 0.5 per 100,000 women per year. These rates are age-adjusted and based on 2012-2015 cases and deaths. The earlier vulvar cancer is caught, the better chance a person has of surviving five years after being diagnosed. For vulvar cancer, 59.2% are diagnosed at the local stage.

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 at  National Cancer Institute and American Cancer Society, Inc., study ethical and safety reasons for the drugs developed for this cance. 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.