Vulvar carcinoma: dilemma, debates, and decisions

Abstract

Swarupa Mitra,1 Manoj Kumar Sharma,1 Inderjeet Kaur,1 Ruparna Khurana,1 Kanika Batra Modi,2 Raman Narang,1 Avik Mandal,1 Soumya Dutta1 1Department of Radiation Oncology, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Center, New Delhi, India, 2Department of Genitourinary Surgical Oncology, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Center, New Delhi, India Abstract: Vulvar carcinoma is a rare and aggressive gynecological malignancy. It affects elderly females, with the mean age at diagnosis being 55–60 years. Regional metastasis to inguinal lymph nodes is common. There is a high incidence of pelvic node involvement, especially in those with pathologically positive inguinal nodes. Surgery appears to be the only curative treatment option in the early stages of the disease. But in most patients, surgery is associated with considerable morbidities and psychosexual issues. Hence, in the quest for a less morbid form of treatment, multimodality approaches with various combinations of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy have been suggested for advanced vulvar cancers. Due to the low incidence of the disease, the level of evidence for the success of these treatment modalities is poor. In countries like India, a heterogeneous incidence of vulvar carcinoma exists across the country, with patients presenting at advanced stages when the option of surgery is often supplemented or replaced by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In this review, we attempt to study the available published literature and trials and discuss the treatment options in various stages of vulvar carcinoma. Keywords: vulva, vulvectomy, radiotherapy, WLE, chemoradiation, review, management 

Keywords

• Vulva
• Vulvectomy
• Radiotherapy
• WLE
• Chemoradiation