Vulvar Carcinoma: RetrospectiveStudy of 47 Cases (Epidemiology, Etiology and LongtermResults)

Overview

Objective:
To evaluate the incidence of vulvar carcinoma, epidemiological signs and therapeuticresults in patients with vulvar malignancies during the stated time period.Design: Retrospective clinical study.Setting: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles Universityand General Faculty Hospital, Prague.Method: An analysis of the available clinical documentation of the patients of the oncologicaloutpatient service of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.Results: Vulvar carcinoma represents 4% of all malignant tumours of female genital tract. Itconcerns predominantly elder women (the average age is 74.2 years). The overall 5-year survival,with no regard to the stage of the disease, is 39.1% in our group. This low figure is due to the highage of the group and to the inappropriate therapeutic approach owed to the internal comorbidi-ty, advanced age and the fact that the majority of cases are diagnosed in advanced stage.Conclusion: In spite of good access, the introduction of screening program is unlikely due to theage distribution, biological behaviour and difficulties in diagnostic of premalignant lesions. Withregard to the increasing incidence of in situ carcinoma whose ethiopatogenesis is affected byHPV infection, it is necessary to pay more attention to vulva lesions in terms of an early histopat-hological verification. The treatment of the external genital tract malignancies should be concen-trated to the centers with the greatest experience of their management.

Key words:
vulvar carcinoma, epidemiology