Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Sep 22;54(4):371-376.
doi: 10.2478/raon-2020-0053.

Modern treatment of vulvar cancer

Sebastjan Merlo  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Modern treatment of vulvar cancer

Sebastjan Merlo. Radiol Oncol. .

Abstract

Background Vulvar cancer accounts for 3-5% of malignant diseases of the female genital tract. The Slovenian incidence rate is 5.5/100,000, which means 57 new cases per year. The most common histological type (90%) is squamous cell carcinoma. Based on etiology, it can be classified into the first type which correlates with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and the second type which is not associated with HPV. The most common and long-lasting symptom of vulvar cancer is pruritus. The preferred diagnostic procedure to confirm the diagnosis is a punch or incision biopsy. Surgery in combination with radiotherapy is the standard treatment for vulvar cancer. Sentinel lymph node biopsy with lymphoscintigraphy is now a standard part of surgical treatment. Chemotherapy is a palliative treatment option. Conclusions Vulvar cancer is a rare disease. Because of the pathogenesis, surgery and radiotherapy are the main treatment modalities. The sentinel node biopsy (SNB) represents a contemporary approach to the vulvar cancer treatment and significantly reduces morbidity. Improvements in treatment of vulvar cancer contributed to the decrease of mortality among Slovenian women.

Keywords: lymphoscintigraphy; radiotherapy; sentinel lymph node biopsy; surgical treatment; vulvar cancer.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

  • Lymphoscintigraphy and sentinel lymph node biopsy in vulvar carcinoma: update from a European expert panel.
    Collarino A, Fuoco V, Garganese G, Pereira Arias-Bouda LM, Perotti G, Manca G, Vidal-Sicart S, Giammarile F, de Geus-Oei LF, Scambia G, Giordano A, Valdés-Olmos RA, Maccauro M. Collarino A, et al. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2020 May;47(5):1261-1274. doi: 10.1007/s00259-019-04650-8. Epub 2020 Jan 2. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2020. PMID: 31897584 Review.
  • Surgery and radiotherapy in vulvar cancer.
    de Hullu JA, van der Zee AG. de Hullu JA, et al. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2006 Oct;60(1):38-58. doi: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2006.02.008. Epub 2006 Jul 10. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2006. PMID: 16829120 Review.
  • Modern management of vulvar cancer.
    de Hullu JA, Oonk MH, van der Zee AG. de Hullu JA, et al. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol. 2004 Feb;16(1):65-72. doi: 10.1097/00001703-200402000-00012. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol. 2004. PMID: 15128010 Review.
  • Groin surgery and the sentinel lymph node.
    de Hullu JA, van der Zee AG. de Hullu JA, et al. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2003 Aug;17(4):571-89. doi: 10.1016/s1521-6934(03)00038-5. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2003. PMID: 12965133 Review.
  • Key concepts in management of vulvar cancer.
    Zweizig S, Korets S, Cain JM. Zweizig S, et al. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2014 Oct;28(7):959-66. doi: 10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2014.07.001. Epub 2014 Jul 17. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2014. PMID: 25151473 Review.
See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Alkatout I, Schubert M, Garbrecht N, Weigel MT, Jonat W, Mundhenke C. Vulvar cancer: epidemiology, clinical presentation, and management options. Int J Womens Health. 2015;7:305–13. doi: 10.2147/IJWH.S68979. et al. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Oonk MHM, Planchamp F, Baldwin P, Bidzinski M, Brännström M, Landoni F. European Society of Gynaecological Oncology Guidelines for the management of patients with vulvar cancer. Int J Gynecol Cancer. 2017;27:832–7. doi: 10.1097/IGC.0000000000000975. et al. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cancer Registry of Republic of Slovenia [Internet] 2016. https://www.onko-i.si/rrs/ [cited 2020 May 6]. Available from.
    1. Zadnik V, Primic Zakelj M, Lokar K, Jarm K, Ivanus U, Zagar T. Cancer burden in Slovenia with the time trends analysis. Radiol Oncol. 2017;51:47–55. doi:1 0.1515/raon-2017-0008. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cancer in Slovenia. Ljubljana: Cancer in Slovenia 2016. Ljubljana: Institute of Oncology Ljubljana; 2016. https://www.onko-i.si/fileadmin/onko/datoteke/dokumenti/RRS/LP_2016.pdf Epidemiology and Cancer Registry, Slovenian Cancer Registry; [internet] 2019 [cited 2020 May 12]. Available from.