Cancers of the External Genital Organs in Women

Cancers of the external genital organs in women are important in terms of early diagnosis and appropriate treatment. It is less common among female genital cancers (3-5% of all female genital cancers).

Female external genital cancers are divided into two groups according to etiology. One group of these is tumors that are seen in older ages and are predominantly squamous cell cancers. The other group is cases that are seen in younger ages and before the age of 45-50 and are caused by events that increase their frequency (such as human papillomavirus).

40% of female external genital cancers originate from the labia majora, and can also be seen less frequently in the labia minora, the clitoris, and the perianal region.

This risk increases especially in patients who have had a tumor in the lower genital system, those receiving immunosuppression treatment, conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, older age, and women with a history of HPV. Apart from these, for vulvar cancers, namely external genital cancers, having previously had precancerous lesions is also a condition that increases the risk.

One of the elements that makes vulvar cancers important is this: in cases where a vulvar biopsy has been performed before, suspicious areas have been examined with an acetic acid staining test or other suspicious areas have been biopsied and HGSIL (High Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion) lesions have been detected here, there may even be cancer with very early stromal invasion adjacent to the biopsy areas or in another area of ​​the vulva. Therefore, in such cases, it is an element that makes vulvar cancer important in terms of missing or being late for early invasive tumors.

Another element that makes external genital organ cancers important is that lymph node metastasis may occur at a very early stage and the presence of lymph node metastasis in the case greatly affects the future of the disease. Among female genital cancers, being an anatomically different region during surgery, being able to infiltrate the anus and urethra, lymph node dissection being related to inguinofemoral lymph nodes and lymph node metastasis directly affecting the prognosis, effective use of sentinel lymph node application are significant. In addition, tumor diameter, nearby organ invasion and degree of invasion, number of lymph node metastases and size of metastasis, location of tumor in vulva, involvement of pelvic lymph nodes, selection and type of surgical treatment directly affect the necessity and status of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Effective use of surgical treatment plays an important role in prognosis. Staging and treatment selection are completely different in tumors that are seen quite rarely such as vulvar melanoma.

Female external genital organ cancers are important in terms of selection of correct treatment and appropriate and effective use of treatment modalities, contrary to being seen less frequently.