Cancer of the Vulva - Diagnosis
Contents:
If a woman is experiencing symptoms of cancer of the vulva, there are
certain tests a doctor may perform. The first of these tests is a careful
examination of the vulva, to check for any lumps. Sometimes the diagnosis
will be visible to the naked eye. If not, the doctor may undertake a colposcopic
examination, which will give the doctor a magnified view of the skin over
the vulva.
Following these examinations, the doctor may then go on to cut a small
piece of skin from the vulva (called a biopsy)
to be examined under a microscope by a pathologist.
The patient will either be given some local
anaesthetic to numb the area prior to taking the biopsy or, if
necessary, admission to hospital may be arranged in order to conduct the
biopsy under general
anaesthetic.
Once the diagnosis of cancer of the vulva has been confirmed, further
tests will need to be performed prior to undertaking treatment, in order
to provide the doctor with a better picture of the patient's health and
the stage of the cancer. These tests include blood tests, X-Rays and
possibly an electrocardiograph
(ECG).
The outcomes for treatment of cancer of the vulva are dependent on the
stage of the cancer at the time of diagnosis and treatment.
Cancer of the vulva develops in the following stages:
 | Stage 0 |
The disease only exists in the surface skin and has not yet started to
invade the deeper tissues. Strictly speaking this is not cancer, but
pre-cancer (VIN)
| Stage I |
The cancer is found only in the vulva and/or the skin between the vagina
and the anus
(perineum). At this stage the cancer is two centimetres or less in size.
| Stage II |
Cancer is found in the vulva and/or the space between the vagina and
the anus (perineum) and the tumour is larger than two centimetres in size.
| Stage III |
The cancer is found in the vulva and/or the skin between the vagina and
the anus (perineum) and has spread to involve any one or more of the
following: the urethra
(tube through which urine passes when the bladder is emptied); the vagina;
the anus; or the groin
lymph nodes.
| Stage IV |
Cancer has spread beyond the urethra, vagina and anus into the lining
of the bladder
and/or bowel,
or it may have spread to lymph
nodes in the pelvis or other parts of the body.
| Recurrent |
Recurrent cancer of the vulva means that the cancer has come back
(recurred) after it has been treated. It may recur in the vulva, in the
groin(s), in the pelvis, or elsewhere in the body.
|
