Vulvar Cancer

Abstract

Vulvar cancer is one of the least common gynecologic cancers. In 2018, vulvar cancer accounted for approximately 6,190 (0.4%) of new cancer diagnoses and approximately 1,200 (0.2%) of cancer deaths in the United States.1 The median age at diagnosis is 68.1 At time of diagnosis, 59% of patients have local disease, 30% have regional disease, and 6% present with metastatic disease.1 The incidence of vulvar cancer per 100,000 women is 1.8 in white women, 1.3 in black women, and 1.3 in Hispanic women.2 Vulvar cancer typically presents as a pruritic lesion, noted by the patient or a provider on exam. Ninety percent of vulvar cancers are of squamous cell histopathology,3 and have risk factors similar to cervical squamous cell carcinoma. Vulvar cancer is staged surgically. The mainstay of vulvar cancer treatment is surgery, however later stages may be treated with chemotherapy and/or radiation. This review contains 2 figures, 2 tables, and 40 references. Keywords: vulvar cancer, chemoradiation, sentinel lymph nodes, inguinal lymphadenectomy, chemotherapy, lymphedema