Vulvar cancer affects a woman’s external genitalia, including the inner and outer lips of the vagina, the opening of the vagina, and the clitoris. The outer lips of the vagina are the most common location for vulvar cancer.

Precancerous cells may develop over the course of several years, a condition that is caused vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia or dysplasia.

Experienced specialists at the Duke Cancer Institute offer cutting-edge treatment for this rare cancer.

Comprehensive Treatment for Vulvar Cancer

Patients with precancerous vulvar disease may be treated with a laser or by wide local excision of the lesions.

Early stage invasive vulvar cancer is treated surgically with removal of the tumor. Lymph nodes in the groin may also be removed to look for spread of the cancer. More extensive local disease can be treated with radiation therapy as well as chemotherapy.

The Duke Cancer Institute offers several types of surgery that are effective at treating this rare cancer:

• Wide local excision to remove the cancer and some normal tissue around it.
• Radical local excision to remove the cancer and much of the normal tissue around it.
• Vulvectomy to remove part or all of the vulva.
• Lymph node dissection to see if the cancer has spread to the groin area. This may involve removal of only sentinel lymph nodes or a more complete groin node dissection.

Appointments

Learn how to make an appointment at the Duke Cancer Institute.