Management of Vulvar Cancer Our Clinical Experiences

Abstract

Background/Aim: Vulvar cancer is a rare malignancy. It frequently affects postmenopausal women. There is no specific screening for vulvar cancer. Treatment is often surgical. The risk of recurrence is high. Lymph node involvement is an important prognostic factor in vulvar cancer. The primary purpose of this study is to share our institutional experience in managing vulvar cancer patients. Materials and Methods: This study is a retrospective study. The study was ultimately conducted with 39 participants. Descriptive analyzes are frequency, percentage, minimum/maximum values, mean, standard deviation, and median. Risk factors for relapse were evaluated by binary logistic regression analysis. Cox regression analyses analyzed analyzes of factors related to survival. Survival analyzes were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and significant differences were determined by the Log Rank (Mantel-Cox) test. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant in the analyses. Results: Half of the patients (n=19; 50.0%) had vulvar mass complaints. While lesions related to vulvar cancer were observed in 13 participants before cancer diagnosis, no lesions were observed in 25 participants (65.8%). Squamous cell carcinoma was detected in 31 (81.6%) participants. Eleven (28.2%) participants had a recurrence. According to the logistic regression analysis, it was determined that the risk factors included in the model did not have statistically significant effects. Cox regression analysis was performed to determine the effects of factors on overall survival. It was determined that the factors included in the models did not have a statistically significant effect. Conclusion: Vulvar cancer is a type of cancer with limited prospective data. Therefore, it poses severe difficulties in treatment. Limited data on vulvar cancer necessitates the development of treatment paradigms. This means that we need to continue to study the disease.