[Effect of inguinal lymph node irradiation on the treatment result of vulvar cancer with different risk factors].

The clinical data from 101 patients with invasive squamous cell cancers of the vulva with less than 10 mm stromal invasion in depth, treated between 1972 and 1983, were studied. 43 of these patients underwent merely a radical vulvectomy, the remaining 58 patients underwent a combination therapy of vulvectomy and irradiation of inguinal lymph nodes. Although the majority of risk factors, like clinically suspicious nodes, stromal invasion of more than 5 mm, tumour expansion of more than 2 cm and clitoral location, occurred more frequently (p<0,001) in the combination therapy group. There was no statistical significance in the five-year survival rate between our two therapy groups (88,4% versus 79,3%). In stage I and II cases inguinal relapses occurred in the group with vulvectomy alone in 9.3%, in the group with adjuvant external irradiation of the inguinal fields in 2.6%. We believe, the data presented show the important role of radiotherapy of inguinal nodes in the curative management of vulvar cancer.