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Dr. Sarah Temkin’s Bio | Q&A Archive
Cancer - perineum
Vulvar cancer is cancer that starts in the vulva. Vulvar cancer most often affects the labia, the folds of skin outside the vagina. In some cases, vulvar cancer may start on the clitoris or in glands on the sides of the vagina opening.
Most vulvar cancers begin in skin cells called squamous cells. Other vulvar cancers are:
Vulvar cancer is relatively rare. Risk factors include:
Women with a condition called vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) have a greater risk of developing vulvar cancer that spreads. However, most cases of VIN never lead to cancer.
Zhingran A, Russell AH, Seiden MV, et al. Cancers of the cervix, vulva, and vagina. In: Abeloff MD, Armitage JO, Niederhuber JE, Kastan MB, McKenna WG, eds. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2008:chap 91.
Kumar S, Shah JP, Bryant CS, et al. A comparison of younger vs older women with vulvar cancer in the United States. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2009;200:e52-e55.
van Seters M, van Beurden M, ten Kate FJ, Beckmann I, Ewing PC, Eijkemans MJ, et al. Treatment of vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia with topical imiquimod. N Engl J Med. 2008;358:1465-1473.
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