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
. 2022 Feb 16;11(4):1025.
doi: 10.3390/jcm11041025.

Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Vulva: A Survival and Epidemiologic Study with Focus on Surgery and Radiotherapy

Matteo Scampa  1 , Daniel F Kalbermatten  1 , Carlo M Oranges  1
Affiliations

Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Vulva: A Survival and Epidemiologic Study with Focus on Surgery and Radiotherapy

Matteo Scampa et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most frequent vulvar neoplasia. While the primary role of surgery is widely accepted, large population studies are needed to compare survival between diverse treatment modalities and to identify independent prognostic factors to help council patients and guide oncological treatment. The U.S. National Cancer Index, Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program data between 2000 and 2018 was screened for all squamous cell carcinoma affecting the vulva. Raw data was processed with IBM SPSS. Demographic, clinical-pathological and treatment data were studied. Overall survival (OS) was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and subgroups were compared using the log rank test. A multivariate cox regression was conducted to identify independent prognostic factors. A total of 11,360 patients were identified with a median age of 65. Median overall survival was 101 months. Surgery as a primary treatment is the therapeutic sequence associated with the best overall survival. Multivariate cox-regression did not meet proportional hazard assumption. Age, pathological grade, stage at diagnosis, treatment sequence and the use of chemotherapy were identified as independent prognostic factor. Surgery alone is the treatment sequence offering the best overall survival. Surgery should be offered to all eligible patients.

Keywords: SEER; epidemiology; squamous cell carcinoma; survival; vulva.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Diagnosis age distribution of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma cases through the years.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Vulvar squamous cell carcinoma overall survival according to age, stage at diagnosis, treatment sequence and use of chemotherapy.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Vulvar squamous cell carcinoma overall survival according to primary site, histological subtype, race and pathological grade.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Yan W., Wistuba I.I., Emmert-Buck M.R., Erickson H.S. Squamous Cell Carcinoma–Similarities and Differences among Anatomical Sites. Am. J. Cancer Res. 2011;1:275. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cancer of the Vulva-Cancer Stat Facts. [(accessed on 4 September 2021)]; Available online: https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/vulva.html.
    1. Siegel R.L., Miller K.D., Fuchs H.E., Jemal A. Cancer Statistics, 2021. CA. Cancer J. Clin. 2021;71:7–33. doi: 10.3322/caac.21654. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tan A., Bieber A.K., Stein J.A., Pomeranz M.K. Diagnosis and Management of Vulvar Cancer: A Review. J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. 2019;81:1387–1396. doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2019.07.055. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Singh N., Gilks C.B. Vulval Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Its Precursors. Histopathology. 2020;76:128–138. doi: 10.1111/his.13989. - DOI - PubMed