[Potentialities and limits of cryosurgery of vulvar cancer--12 years' results of therapy].

From 1971 to 1982 146 patients suffering from vulvar carcinoma have been cryosurgically treated at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of the Medical Academy of Erfurt. There were primary inoperable, progressive, metastatic or recurrent cases after preliminary operative or radiation therapy. The 5-years surviving rate by cryotherapy, rarely combined with other methods of therapy (cytostatic therapy with Bleomycin, x-radiation, operative lymphonodectomy) was 38.5%. Our results show that cryosurgery extends the possibilities of conventional treatment of vulvar carcinoma both in palliative therapy of progressive cancer and in primary treatment, especially in patients, who cannot be charged by other complicated operations. According to every other cancer-therapy cryosurgery should be performed only in a gynaecological centre for cancer treatment.