Cancer of the Vagina - Fact Sheet

	The Vagina
	What is Cancer of the Vagina?
	Causes
	Symptoms
	Diagnosis
	Treatment

The Vagina

The vagina is a tubular structure several centimetres in length. The vagina commences in the vulva between the outlet from the bladder (the urethra) and the outlet from the bowel (the anus). It continues up into the pelvis, stopping where it joins with the cervix, which is the lower-most part of the uterus (womb).

What is Cancer of the Vagina?

Cancer of the vagina is a very uncommon disease accounting for less than 2% of all cases of cancer of the female genital tract. In Queensland there are generally not more than ten cases of vaginal cancer each year. Most cases occur in women over the age of fifty years.

Most cancers of the vagina are metastatic, that is they have arisen somewhere else, usually from the cervix or vulva, and spread to the vagina.

What Causes Cancer of the Vagina?

Little is known about the causes of cancer of the vagina. However, they mostly affect older women, as the average age of women with this cancer type is sixty years. Interest has been shown in an association with the wart virus infection, or human papilloma virus. About one third of patients with vaginal cancer have a history of pre-cancer or cancer of the cervix treated five or more years earlier.

Symptoms

Most women with cancer of the vagina will have painless vaginal bleeding (not related to normal periods) and a discharge which is often offensive in nature. If the woman is sexually active, this bleeding may be following sexual intercourse (post-coital). Although not all women experiencing these symptoms will have cancer of the vagina, any woman with symptoms should see her family doctor without delay.

Diagnosis

If a woman is experiencing symptoms of cancer of the vagina, the doctor will usually perform a biopsy. This is an operation to remove a small piece of tissue to be sent for examination by a pathologist. A biopsy for cancer of the vagina will need to be performed under either a local anaesthetic or general anaesthetic, usually in a hospital.

Treatment

All types of cancer of the vagina can be treated; all are not curable. Treatment for cancer of the vagina depends on the stage of the disease, the type of disease and the patient's age and overall medical condition.

Most patients with cancer of the vagina will receive radiation therapy as their main treatment. This treatment usually involves both external and internal radiotherapy. External radiation is the delivery of high energy radiation to a cancer and is similar to having an X-Ray. High energy radiation is produced by different types of machines, the most common type being a linear accelerator.

Internal radiation therapy (otherwise known as brachytherapy) involves the placement of radioactive material inside the body, into or near the cancer to be treated. The radioactive material may be 'sealed', in the form of radioactive wires or seeds implanted in the body; or it may be 'unsealed', in the form of radioactive liquids which may be given intravenously, injected into body spaces or taken orally.

Surgery has a fairly limited role in the treatment of cancer of the vagina. When it is used, it is usually limited to patients with very early stage disease who are relatively young and have easily removable tumours. In young women who require radiation therapy, there is a place for a pre-radiation operation to allow for the ovaries to be moved out of the pelvis and away from the area to be radiated. This is done to attempt to prevent the infertility often caused by radiation therapy to the pelvis.