Tumors of the Vulva and Vagina

Cancers of the vulva and vagina are relatively rare, with an estimated 3900 and 2300 cases, respectively, diagnosed in the United States in 2010. These cancers result in approximately 1700 deaths each year. In this chapter we discuss the histological subtypes, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of these uncommon tumors, with a focus on recent developments (sentinel lymph node mapping, novel therapeutic agents, etc). As squamous cell carcinoma is the most common type of vulvar and vaginal tumor, the bulk of the chapter will be dedicated to discussion of it. We do not discuss the management of recurrent disease as that is often individualized based on the patient's overall condition, site of recurrence, previous therapy, and expected efficacy of available therapies, resulting in multiple considerations and permutations which are beyond the scope of this chapter.