title: Trends in epidemiology of preinvasive and invasive vulvar neoplasias. 13 year retrospective analysis in Thrace, Greece.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the trends in incidence of preinvasive and invasive vulvar neoplasias in the rural area of Trace, as well as to check the hypothesis that patients found with these two distinct entities represent populations with different epidemiologic characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a retrospective study on 34 patients found with invasive vulvar cancer and vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) (12 and 22 respectively), who referred to our department from 1986-1998. Epidemiologic characteristics of the patients were abstracted from medical charts. To evaluate our results we used the direct standardization method (1995 Eur. Population) and chi2 test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The age-adjusted incidence rates for VIN1-2, in situ cancer (CIS)-VIN3 and invasive vulvar cancer were 0.9¿100,000, 1.6¿100,000 and 1.8¿100,000 respectively, while for the whole VIN lesions 2.5¿100,000. There were statistically significant differences in most epidemiologic characteristics between the two study groups, one with invasive cancer patients and one with patients found with preinvasive vulvar neoplasia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The overall age-adjusted incidence rate for vulvar neoplasia in Thrace is comparable to the one reported in literature. Our study results confirm that patients with invasive and preinvasive vulvar neoplasia represent populations with different epidemiologic characteristics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Democritus University of Thrace, General Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Greece.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Anastasiadis
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Skaphida
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Koutlaki
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boli
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Galazios
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Liberis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002278:Carcinoma in Situ / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D012747:Sexual Partners; D014846:Vulvar Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology