Post Date April, 15 2023
The emergence of vulvar cancer causes special pain to many patients, not only affecting their normal life and work, but also seriously threatening their health and life safety.
Complications of vulvar cancer
1. Spread: Local tumors in the external genitalia gradually increase, but there is less invasion of the myometrium and adjacent structures such as the pubic periosteum. Once the vagina is invaded, it will immediately affect the levator ani, rectum, urethral orifice or bladder.
2. Lymphatic metastasis: The vulva has abundant lymphatic vessels, and the lymphatic capillary plexus of the vulva communicates with each other. Cancer in one side of the vulva spreads through the lymphatic vessels on both sides, initially transferring to the superficial inguinal lymph nodes, the femoral lymph nodes below the inguinal, entering the pelvic iliac, obturator, and iliac lymph nodes, and ultimately transferring to the paraaortic and left subclavian lymph nodes. Cancer swelling in the clitoris can bypass the superficial inguinal lymph nodes and directly metastasize to the femoral lymph nodes, while cancer in the posterior vulva and lower vagina can prevent the superficial inguinal lymph nodes from directly metastasizing to the pelvic lymph nodes.
Treatment of vulvar cancer
1. External ointment: For the treatment of vulvar cancer, the commonly used treatment is external ointment. This drug has a certain effect in the short term, but it does not cure the symptoms and causes repeated attacks once the drug is stopped, causing dependence on the drug and making it difficult to obtain treatment fundamentally. This is a common treatment method for vulvar cancer.
2. Surgical resection: In clinical practice, surgical treatment is used for some patients with severe conditions, as vulvar cancer is a precancerous lesion that may develop into vulvar cancer. Therefore, surgical resection is advocated for treatment. The disadvantage of this treatment method for vulvar cancer is that it causes trauma, greatly affects postoperative sexual activity, and has a high recurrence rate of over 80%.
3. Laser and electric heating: Physical therapy is also a common method for treating vulvar cancer, but these therapies are not very reliable and can easily worsen atrophy, as this disease is caused by various factors that hinder the nutritional pathway of the vulva, leading to a local lack of nutrients. Electric heating and laser can exacerbate the depletion of nutrients, thereby exacerbating the atrophy of the cleft.
4. Radiation therapy: Vulvar cancer is sensitive to radiation, but normal tissues of the vulva have poor tolerance to radiation. Therefore, it is advisable to choose radiation therapy with caution. For people with advanced cancer and extensive infiltration, preoperative radiation therapy can achieve palliative treatment and treatment through surgical resection. Postoperative radiation therapy is used for lymph node positivity, incisional edge cancer, etc. There are contraindications for surgery, and patients undergoing late stage surgery can also receive palliative radiation therapy. Radiation therapy includes external radiation therapy and interstitial radiation therapy.
