What is vaginal cancer?

Vaginal cancer is divided into two types: primary and secondary. Secondary vaginal cancer is more common and can come from direct spread of adjacent organs or metastasis through blood and lymphatic tracts. Primary vaginal cancer is the least common gynecologic malignancy, accounting for about 1% of malignant tumors of female genital organs. Histopathologically, 85% to 95% of primary vaginal cancers are squamous carcinomas, followed by adenocarcinomas, while vaginal melanomas and sarcomas are much less common. Squamous carcinomas and melanomas are more common in older women, adenocarcinomas are more common in adolescents, and endodermal sinus tumors and chylomicron sarcomas are more common in infants and children. Vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia or early infiltrating carcinoma may have no obvious symptoms, or may only have increased vaginal discharge or contact vaginal bleeding. As the disease progresses, vaginal discharge of foul-smelling fluid or irregular vaginal bleeding, frequent urination, urgent urination, hematuria, difficulty in defecation and lumbosacral pain may occur. Advanced patients may develop cough, hemoptysis, shortness of breath or malignant fluid. Gynecological examination can usually detect and feel the tumor in the vaginal cavity, and the cervix and vulva should be carefully examined to exclude secondary vaginal cancer. Vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia or early infiltrative carcinoma lesions may only appear as vaginal mucosal erosions and congestion, white spots or polyps; advanced lesions may be cauliflower or ulcerated, infiltrative, and may involve the whole vagina, paravagina, main uterine ligament and uterosacral ligament, as well as vesicovaginal fistula, urethrovaginal fistula or rectovaginal fistula, and lymph node enlargement (such as inguinal, pelvic and supraclavicular lymph node metastasis) and distant organ metastasis. manifestations. For anatomical reasons, the vaginal-vesical septum and the vagino-rectal septum are no more than 5 mm, making surgery and radiotherapy difficult. The incidence of this disease is low and treatment experience is limited; patients should be concentrated in experienced oncology centers. The treatment of vaginal cancer emphasizes individualization and determines the treatment plan according to the patient’s age, the stage of the lesion and the vaginal involvement site. The treatment principles for upper vaginal cancer can be referred to those for cervical cancer, and those for lower vaginal cancer can be referred to those for vulvar cancer.