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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staff
It's not clear what causes vulvar cancer. In general, doctors know that cancer begins when a cell develops mutations in its DNA. The mutations allow the cell to grow and divide rapidly. The cell and its offspring go on living when other normal cells would die. The accumulating cells form a tumor that may be cancerous, invading nearby tissue and spreading to other parts of the body.
Types of vulvar cancer
The type of cell in which vulvar cancer begins helps your doctor devise the most effective treatment plan. The most common types of vulvar cancer include:
- Vulvar squamous cell carcinoma. This cancer begins in the thin, flat cells that line the surface of the vulva. Most vulvar cancers are squamous cell carcinomas.
- Vulvar melanoma. This cancer begins in the pigment-producing cells found in the skin of the vulva.
- Jhingran A, et al. Cancers of the cervix, vulva and vagina. In: Abeloff MD, et al. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone; 2007:1766.
- Frumovitz M, et al. Neoplastic diseases of the vulva: Lichen sclerosus, intraepithelial neoplasia, Paget's disease, carcinoma. In: Katz VL, et al. Comprehensive Gynecology. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/202781245-2/0/1524/0.html. Accessed June 2, 2010.
- Crosbie EJ, et al. The management of vulvar cancer. Cancer Treatment Reviews. 2009;35:533.
- Whitcomb BP. Gynecologic malignancies. Surgical Clinics of North America. 2008;88:301.
- Elkas JC, et al. Vulvar cancer: Staging, treatment and prognosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 7, 2010.
- Gagne HM. Colposcopy of the vagina and vulva. Obstetric and Gynecologic Clinics of North America. 2008;35:659.
- Helm CW. Radical vulvectomy. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 7, 2010.
- Barton DPJ. The prevention and management of treatment related morbidity in vulvar cancer. Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics Gynaecology. 2003;17:683.
- Disorders of the vulva. American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp088.cfm. Accessed June 9, 2010.
- Human papillomavirus infection. American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp073.cfm. Accessed June 9, 2010.
- Vulva. In: Edge SB, et al. AJCC Cancer Staging Manual. 7th ed. New York, N.Y.: Springer; 2010:379.
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