VULVA & VAGINA CANCER
Vulvar and vaginal cancer, rare tumors of the female genital system, are a disease of older women. The external genitalia can be affected in single or multiple foci. The urinary tract or bowel outlet may be involved. Patients may experience complaints such as a mass on the outer lips, itching, and bleeding due to tissue damage. Secondary urinary or bowel involvement can lead to symptoms such as inability to urinate, bleeding during urination, and pain and bleeding in the anus. Vulvar cancer can spread to the lymph nodes in the groin area. Some vulvar cancers are caused by HPV infection, while others are caused by skin conditions unrelated to HPV infection.
For diagnostic purposes, a direct biopsy of the vulvar mass should be performed. For patients with itching but no vulvar mass, a colposcopy should be performed to evaluate the vulva and biopsies should be taken from suspicious areas. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, distant metastases should be investigated using imaging methods. Surgery is recommended for localized disease. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy are administered as needed based on pathology results. Primary chemotherapy and radiotherapy are administered to patients with extensive disease at the time of diagnosis.
