Vaginal cancer

[Michiko]

Cancer of the vagina, an uncommon cancer, usually develops in the cells lining the vagina, typically in women over 60.

• Vaginal cancer may cause abnormal vaginal bleeding, particularly after sexual intercourse.
• If doctors suspect cancer, they remove and examine samples of tissue from the vagina (biopsy).
• The cancer is surgically removed, or radiation therapy is used.

(See also Overview of Female Reproductive System Cancers.)

In the United States, vaginal cancer accounts for only about 1% of gynecologic cancers. The average age at diagnosis is 60 to 65.

Vaginal cancer may be caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), the same virus that causes genital warts and cervical cancer. Having HPV infection, cervical cancer, or vulvar cancer increases the risk of developing vaginal cancer.

More than 95% of vaginal cancers are squamous cell carcinomas (carcinomas), which develop in the flat, skinlike cells that form the surface of vaginal lining. Most other vaginal cancers are adenocarcinomas, which develop from gland cells. One rare type, clear cell adenocarcinoma, occurs almost exclusively in women whose mothers took the drug diethylstilbestrol (DES), prescribed to prevent miscarriage during pregnancy. (In 1971, the drug was banned in the United States.)

If untreated, vaginal cancer continues to grow and invades surrounding tissue. Eventually, it may enter blood and lymphatic vessels, then spread to the bladder, rectum, nearby lymph nodes, and other parts of the body.