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Vaginal tumors

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Definition:

A vaginal tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in the vagina, a female reproductive organ.

Alternative Names:

Vaginal cancer; Cancer - vagina; Tumor - vaginal

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Most cancerous vaginal tumors are the result of the spread of a different cancer, such as cervical or endometrial cancer . This is called secondary vaginal cancer.

Primary vaginal cancer is very rare. Most primary vaginal cancers start in skin cells called squamous cells. The remainder is grouped as adenocarcinoma (6%), melanoma (3%), and sarcoma (3%).

The cause of squamous cell carcinoma of the vagina is unknown, but up to 30% of patients have a prior history of cervical cancer.

About 75% of patients with squamous cell cancer of the vagina are over 50. Adenocarcinomas of the vagina more commonly affect younger women. The average age of diagnosis for adenocarcinoma of the vagina is 19.

Women whose mothers took diethylstilbestrol (DES) during the first 3 months of pregnancy are at increased risk for developing adenocarcinoma.

Sarcoma botryoides of the vagina is a rare type of cancer that mainly occurs in infancy and early childhood.

• Review Date: 9/11/2006
• Reviewed By: Rita Nanda, M.D., Department of Medicine, Section of Hematology/Oncology, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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