Vulvar cancer: prognostic factors.
BACKGROUND
Prognostic factors such as surgery and pathology in vulvar squamous cell carcinoma are studied.


METHODS
47 patients with vulva squamous cell carcinoma treated at the Gynecology Department of the University of Padua, have been retrospectively studied.


RESULTS
At the univariate relapse-free survival analysis, a significant association was found for histological grade, stage of disease and type of surgery. All patients presented vulvar squamous cell carcinoma: G(1) in 25 (53%), G(2) in 14 (30%), and G(3) in 8 (17%) patients. The distribution of stages was as following: stage 1 in 6 (13%), stage 2 in 20 (43%), stage 3 in 11 (23%), and stage 4 in 10 patients (21%). Radiotherapy was performed in 13 patients. Among the 47 patients evaluable: 26 (55.3%) developed local recurrence, 12 of these patients developed a second local relapse, 3 of these also had distant metastases (lung in 1 patient, lomboaortic and mediastinic lymph nodes in the other 2 patients). Stromal invasions were <or=9 mm in 14 patients with 6 relapses and >9 mm in 30 patients with 27 relapses (univariated analysis p=0 0066). Five episodes (10,6%) of thrombosis were observed.


CONCLUSIONS
After multivariate analysis, surgery, stage and stromal invasion over 9 mm (hazard ratio=3.1; 95% confidence interval: 1.3-7.7) proved to be the most dominant predictor for relapse-free survival. Histological grades 1 and 2 were predictive of better disease-free survival (p=0.0012).
Nicoletto
Maria Ornella
MO
Medical Oncology Unit, Istituto Oncologico Veneto - IRCCS, Via Gattamelata, 64, 35128 Padova, Italy.
Parenti
Anna
A
Del Bianco
Paola
P
Lombardi
Giuseppe
G
Pedrini
Lucia
L
Pizzi
Sara
S
Carli
Paolo
P
Della Palma
Maurizia
M
Pastorelli
Davide
D
Corti
Luigi
L
Becagli
Leopoldo
L
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000209:etiology; D014846:Vulvar Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy