Treatment outcome of patients with carcinoma of vulva: experience from a tertiary cancer center of India.

PURPOSE

The aim of our retrospective study was to analyze and report the clinical outcome of patients with vulvar carcinoma (VC) treated at our center.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrieved the information regarding patients' clinical details, treatment given, survival and complications from the case records of all VC patients who were treated at our center during the year 1998-2005. Overall survival (OS) was determined with respect to age, histopathological grade, stage of disease, treatment group, pathological lymph node status, etc.

RESULTS

A total of 60 case records were retrieved for this retrospective analysis. Age ranged from 24 to 92 years (median 63 years). International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage distribution was as follows: stage I: 2 patients; stage II: 17 patients; stage III: 31 patients; stage IV: 9 patients; and unknown stage: 1 patient. Thirty-three patients underwent surgery (wide local excision 3, radical vulvectomy 30). Eleven patients received postoperative radiation therapy (PORT), 12 received palliative radiation therapy (RT) and 15 underwent definitive RT (5 of them received concurrent chemotherapy). Median follow-up period was 23 months (range 2-144 months). The 5-year OS for all stages was 41%. FIGO stage and pathological node positivity were found to be statistically significant prognostic factors for survival.

CONCLUSION

Despite the majority of patients presenting in advanced stage, the 5-year OS of 41% in our series reflects a decent therapeutic outcome. The results have shown FIGO stage and pathological node positivity to be significant prognostic factors for survival. The use of preoperative chemotherapy/RT needs to be studied in our setup.