The Reasons of Changes in Revised Staging for Carcinoma of the Vulva

Czech version

Authors: B. Sehnal ¹; E. Kmoníčková ²; K. Maxová ¹; H. Koutníková ³; D. Driák ¹; H. Neumannová ¹; P. Bolehovská ¹; J. Sláma ⁴
Authors‘ workplace: Gynekologicko‑porodnická klinika 1. LF UK a Nemocnice Na Bulovce, Praha ¹; Ústav radiační onkologie, Komplexní onkologické centrum 1. LF UK a Nemocnice Na Bulovce, Praha ²; Patologicko‑anatomické oddělení 1. LF UK a Nemocnice Na Bulovce, Praha ³; Onkogynekologické centrum, Gynekologicko‑porodnická klinika 1. LF UK a VFN v Praze ⁴
Published in: Klin Onkol 2013; 26(5): 319-322
Category: Review

Overview

Background:
Review of revised staging system for vulva, explaining the changes of staging and their impact on the prognosis of disease is presented.

Aim:
The main objectives of a reliable staging system include an assessment of prognosis, planning treatment, and the evaluation of their outcomes. A good staging system must meet three basic characteristics: validity, reliability and practicality. Since medical research and practice in the field of oncology have shown explosive growth, the staging of vulvar cancer and some other cancers did not give a good spread of prognostic groupings. Changes based on new findings were proposed in 2008 by the FIGO Committee on Gynecologic Oncology, approved, and published a year later the changes in the staging system for carcinoma of the vulva. Stage 0 was deleted, since it represents pre‑invasive lesion. Stage IA remained unchanged and stage I and II were combined. The number and morphology of the involved nodes were taken into account, and the bilaterality of positive nodes has been discounted.

Conclusion:
The purpose of a good staging system is to offer a classification of the extent of gynecological cancer, in order to provide a method of conveying one‘s clinical experience to others for the comparison of different treatment methods. As a result of the explosion of medical research in the field of oncology, the staging of some of the gynecological cancers became outdated and did not give a good spread of prognostic groupings. According to the revised staging for carcimona of the vulva, patients are divided to groups with similar prognosis. Therefore, exchange of relevant information between oncological centers is facilitated, thus disseminating knowledge and stimulating research in other parts of the world.

Key words:
cancer staging – cancer of the vulva – TNM staging – FIGO staging – gynecological cancer

The authors declare they have no potential conflicts of interest concerning drugs, products, or services used in the study.

The Editorial Board declares that the manuscript met the ICMJE “uniform requirements” for biomedical papers.

Submitted:
15. 4. 2013

Accepted:
30. 4. 2013

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